Asia ReView

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI

Dec. 2: The Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh on Monday came out in full force against "jihadi terror” and ”fanatic religio-political elements” responsible of unleashing a reign of terror in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Senior RSS functionary Mohan Bhagwat, whose named appeared in the Malegaon blast probe after reports suggested that the Malegaon terror plot had involved a threat to his life, said that "terrorism is a war perpetrated by fanatical religio-political elements on democratic and civilised world”.

He said that a "national consensus” and a "will” were the first prerequisite for defeating such elements. The role of the Indian Army had come under scrutiny since the arrest of Lt. Col. Srikant Purohit in the Malegaon blast case. "I urge upon the countrymen to express solidarity with the armed forces and other agencies engaged in this war (against terror)," he said. The RSS has expressed solidarity with the people of Mumbai urging all "patriotic citizens” to organise public pr-ogrammes to pay homage to the victims.

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Sena ‘bans’ Pak players in Mumbai

Mumbai, Dec. 2: The Shiv Sena will henceforth not permit any Pakistani player or cultural artiste to come and perform in Mumbai or Maharashtra, a senior party leader said. Party MP Sanjay Raut said that it had always been the Sena’s policy to discourage any kind of interaction between Pakistanis and Indians.

"However, after this dastardly terror attac-ks, we will ensure that not a single Pakistani player or cultural artiste will ever set foot anywhere in the state," Mr Raut said.

Castigating the Sena’s stand, Jatin Desai, a prominent activist said: "This was on the expe-cted lines from the Shiv Sena. In both India and Pakistan, the fundame-ntalist elements are str-ongly opposed to impr-oved relations."

-IANS