31 August BJP leader L K Advani has expressed satisfaction over the accord signed to resolve the Amarnath land row and claimed that the Prime Minister had told him that the government will not succumb to "pressure from separatists".
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a rally in New Delhi on Sunday, Advani said he wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that "this is not a Hindu versus Muslim issue, this is not Jammu versus Valley issue. It is a surrender to the pressure of the separatists.
"Therefore the problem has arisen. And therefore when he (Singh) replied to me that ‘I agree with this analysis’ and also stated firmly that under no circumstances will the government take a decision under pressure from separatists, I felt satisfied that now we will be reaching a solution.
"And if now the decision has been reached I feel happy," Advani said.
The BJP leader said that from the initial reports received here it appeared the agreement reached was broadly satisfactory to the Sri Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Samiti, spearheading the agitation in Jammu region for transfer of land to the Shrine Board.
Advani said the issue should be recognised in "its true form."The Samiti suspended its agitation on Sunday after the Jammu and Kashmir government agreed to hand over forest land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) for the yatra period.BJP vows to regularise unauthorised slums in Delhi In an effort to woo the Delhi voters ahead of the Assembly elections, the BJP has promised to regularise unauthorised colonies and slums in the capital if elected to power, the saffron party organized a rally in New Delhi on Sunday.
Speaking at a rally in New Delhi on Sunday, senior leader L K Advani said: "Villages were ignored by the governments (after independence) and people had to migrate to cities. Though these people got odd jobs they did not get a roof over their heads. This lead to building of slums."He praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his pledge to remove all slums in his state.
"Today, under Modi, Gujarat is the most progressive state. He is building homes where these slums existed."The Prime Ministerial candidate also tried to win over the Bihari population in the capital when he mentioned the steps being taken by the BJP and NDA-ruled states to send relief to the flood-affected state.
"I have asked chief ministers of all BJP and NDA-ruled states, especially those in coastal areas to extend all possible support. I have asked Orissa and Karnataka to send boats to Bihar to rescue marooned people," he said.
BJP President Rajnath Singh also spoke about the unauthorised colonies in the capital. "I promise that if we come to power these colonies will be regularised," he said.Party secretary and organiser of the rally, Vijay Goel, has held demonstrations to demand regularisation of these colonies.The party hopes to reap electoral dividends from around 40 lakh such people.