BJP leaders skip banquet for royals
Dehradun: Senior BJP leaders stayed away from the banquet hosted by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in honour of Prince Charles and his wife, saying it was “unnecessary” to organise such an event in the wake of the mid-June calamity. Three former BJP Chief Ministers B C Khanduri, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank besides Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt, state BJP chief Tirath Singh Rawat and party MP Tarun Vijay were invited to the banquet hosted in honour of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles on Thursday night. However, all of them decided not to attend the event in view of the recent calamity in the state in which hundreds perished and thousands went missing. State BJP chief Rawat said, “The party is thankful to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for their visit to Uttarakhand. But in a state where people are yet to recover from the effects of the colossal tragedy, a simpler function with less pomp could have been held in their honour.” He said, “We feel that organising a lavish royal banquet in such times could have been avoided.” The state BJP chief said the party leaders’ decision not to attend the lavish feast was out of sympathy with the people of the state who have suffered so much in the recent calamity in Uttarakhand. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna held a sumptuous dinner at the palatial Hotel Ananda at Narendra Nagar in honour of the royal couple who began their extensive nine-day India tour with Uttarakhand on November 6. (PTI)
Nehru was not reluctant to send troops to Kashmir: Jha
New Delhi: After L K Advani’s salvo at Jawaharlal Nehru over his alleged reluctance to send troops to Kashmir in 1948, Senior journalist Prem Shankar Jha on Friday said the “real disagreement” between him and Sardar Vallabhai Patel was not over whether to send the army in but when and under what circumstances. Jha said this while seeking to set the record straight, a day after the BJP stalwart alleged that Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, was reluctant to send army to Kashmir in 1947 even as Pakistani troops approached, but Patel, the then Home Minister, prevailed over him. The comments by Advani in his latest blog quoting Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw from the interview given to Jha for his book stoked a potential controversy, days after the BJP leader claimed that Nehru had called Patel a “total communalist” for insisting on police action against the Nizam in 1948. Citing the interview given in December 1993, Advani concluded that ‘even on sending the army into J and K following the attack on J and K by tribesmen and Pakistan in 1947, Nehru had similar reservations(as on Hyderabad six months later)’ “Since my book has provided the ammunition for his salvo, I would like to set the record straight,” Jha said in a statement. Jha, however, noted that Advani has reproduced Manekshaw’s interview with complete “fidelity” and that his conclusion that Nehru had differences with Patel over sending the army into Kashmir is also true. (PTI)
Man dies of injuries received in a bear attack
Srinagar: A man, who was attacked by a wild bear last month, succumbed to injuries at a hospital here, police said on Friday. Mohammad Jabbar Dar was injured on October 2 when he was attacked by a bear outside his house at Awantipora in Pulwama district and succumbed at SKIMS here last night, a police spokesman said. In a separate incident, the spokesman said, a bear ventured into Khaipora Payeen village at Hardu Maidan in Tangmarg area of Baramulla district today and attacked a man who was working in his fields. Mushtaq Ahmad Rather was critically injured in the attack and was hospitalised, the spokesman added. (PTI)
High reaches of Himachal covered in snow, Rohtang Pass closed
Shimla: Temperature in high altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh plummeted and reached five to 10 notches below freezing point due to fresh snowfall, which also led to the closure of Rohtang Pass and suspension of traffic on Manali-Leh National highway. All natural sources of water like springs, lakes, rivulets and a large stretch of Chandrabhaga river were frozen, reducing discharge of water in snowfed rivers and affecting hydropower generation. Mid and lower hills of the state were also lashed by widespread rains during the last 24 hours. (PTI)