World | India
Madhya Pradesh election today
Madhya Pradesh goes to polls today against the backdrop of a shrill campaign, which slid from development issues to exchange of verbal fireworks between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress over terror attacks in the country.
- IANS
- Published: 00:02 November 27, 2008
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh goes to polls today against the backdrop of a shrill campaign, which slid from development issues to exchange of verbal fireworks between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress over terror attacks in the country.
The BJP, which was hardselling its government's development claims in the state, put the issue on the backburner just as the election campaign in the state was drawing to a close and focussed on Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur, arrested for her alleged involvement in the September 29 Malegaon bombing.
Its senior leader and prime minister hopeful Lal Krishna Advani questioned the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad over the blast, in which six people were killed and for which 10 people including the sadhvi and a serving Indian army officer, have been arrested.
Illegal detention
Addressing election rallies, Advani alleged that Pragnya Singh was kept in illegal detention for 16 days without a woman constable.
"The woman, who had become sadhvi, was tortured in illegal detention. Her disciple was asked to beat her and, on his refusal, he was tortured. All this is in the affidavit filed by her," Advani repeated at all meetings.
"Not only this, during the illegal detention, there was no woman constable with her, which is contrary to Indian laws."
The Congress, which is the main opposition in the state, was put on the defensive. The party said the investigation agencies did their own job and it had nothing to do with it.
Advising the BJP not to play politics on the issue of terrorism, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi in his public meetings stressed that the BJP was raking up the issue of terrorism to hide its failures. "It was they [the BJP leaders] who went to Kandahar (Afghanistan) to set the terrorists free, who later attacked our installtions," Rahul Gandhi said.
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