Vajpayee to lead BJP march on session’s first day

NEW DELHI (PTI) : Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will lead a BJP march in Delhi on the first day of Parliament’s winter session next month as part of the party’s campaign opposing clemency for death-row convict Mohammad Afzal Guru.

The BJP, which originally planned to hold its “national security pledge march” on November 27 in Delhi, brought it forward in light of the rescheduling of the winter session from November 22.

The march would be led by Vajpayee and party leaders Rajnath Singh and L K Advani, said BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Advani and his party colleagues Murli Manohar Joshi and Kalyan Singh, among others, are scheduled to participate in a similar event in Ayodhya before the start of the winter session.

Ahead of elections in several states, the BJP has launched a high-pitched Hindutva campaign and announced it will hold rallies and protests during November 15-21 in 15 locations, including Ayodhya, where terrorist strikes have occurred, to oppose clemency for Guru.

The BJP, which will observe November 15-21 as a national security pledge week, today also came out with a new set of slogans to target the ruling UPA for its handling of terrorism.

“Jo mafi ki baat karega, desh usse na maaf karega (the nation will not forgive those who will seek pardon for Afzal); Congress ka dekho khel, atanki Afzal se meil (The Congress’ gameplan is about being hand-in-glove with terrorist Afzal),” the new slogans read.

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