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BJP president L. K. Advani assured the minorities in this
Muslim-dominated city that they had nothing to fear from the
resurgent march of his party to power in Delhi.
Mr Advani was addressing a large gathering, none the worse for the
series of receptions accorded to him after he entered Kerala on
Friday from Karnataka, leading the Suvarna Jayanti Ratha Yatra,
that will take him through 19 States on his 15,000-km journey from
Bombay to Delhi on July 10.
The public meeting was delayed because of the tumultuous welcome
that awaited him at every scheduled halt.
Elaborating on the BJP's vision of an India, whose freedom from
colonial rule remained incomplete in the absence of economic and
social progress, Mr Advani said that no nation could march ahead,
secure of its place in the comity of nations unless a sense of
pride in one's own culture and heritage informed the thought and
action of the people and the policies of the party they elect to
govern the country. The BJP's objective precisely was to awaken
this spirit among the people, transcending all distinctions of
religion, region and language.
Earlier, at a public reception accorded to him at Kannur in the
afternoon, the BJP president declared his party's war on the new
angle of religion sought to he introduced in the gender-based
reservation for women. He questioned, in particular, the secular
credentials of the Janata Dal, which tried to distort the objective
behind empowering women by bringing in the minorities. It only
betrayed the party's anxiety to ensure for itself an assured vote
bank, which made it no different from the approach of the Muslim
League, he added.
Before the "Ratha Yatra" entered the State, district organisers had
to face some anxious moments as the booking of the 11 rooms for Mr
Advani and the senior leaders accompanying him at the Government
Guest House at West Hill was cancelled at the last minute.
The reason given was the stay of the Chief Justice at the Guest
House on the same day and there was some talk of even the Governor
wanting to visit the city. But district BJP leaders said that it
was all a ploy by the Marxist-led State Government to upset Mr
Advani's programme.
Rejecting the offer of the two annexes at the Guest House, BJP
Leaders went around searching frantically for suitable
accommodation for the party chief who comes in the 'Z' plus
security category. Ultimately, Hotel Malabar Palace came to their
rescue. But this minor irritant proved to be of no consequence, as
the response of the people all along Mr Advani's route swept aside
the misgivings of the organisers.
Including those at Kasargode and Kanjankade, public receptions were
arranged for Mr Advani at eight places, all of which drew massive
crowds, because of which the city meeting scheduled at 6.30 p.m.
was delayed by nearly three hours. But, Mr Advani took it all in
his stride, the response of the gatherings spurring him on to
inspired heights.
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