Saudi Arabia Calls for Quick End of War

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia on 24 March called for a speedy end to the US-led war on Iraq and reiterated its total rejection of a military occupation of Iraq.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, also said that Saudi Arabia would not take part in any military action against Iraq.

"While following the painful events taking place in Iraq and the killing of civilians, Saudi Arabia stresses the necessity of ending the military operations soon," the Cabinet said in a statement.

"Saudi Arabia reaffirms that resolving the Iraqi crisis and its consequences must be done through joint global effort within the framework of international legitimacy," Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said, quoting the Cabinet statement.

The Cabinet also called for implementing UN Security Council resolutions and affirmed the need to preserve Iraq's security, unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Cabinet sought measures to safeguard "Iraq's civil establishments for the service of the Iraqi people."

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has submitted a peace proposal to the US as part of its attempt to end the war in Iraq, according to Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.

Prince Saud was addressing a crowded press conference in the Foreign Ministry on 25 March on the situation in Iraq and the Saudi Arabia's efforts - in tandem with the international community - to find a peaceful solution to the war.

In Washington, US state Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "We are not aware of any peace proposal from Saudi Arabia. There has been no particular approach or proposal made to us by Saudi Arabia at this stage."

"The time for co-operative solutions with this Iraqi regime has passed. Peace proposals that leave the current Iraqi regime in place... are just not worth it," he added. - SPA

MWL Calls for Immediate Halt to War on Iraq

MAKKAH - The Muslim World League (MWL) on 27 March called for an immediate end to the war on Iraq, which it described as part of a series of conflicts between the Muslim Ummah and its enemies.

"While denouncing this war, the Muslim Ummah demands that it be stopped immediately according to the call of wisdom and international legitimacy," said MWL Secretary-General Dr. Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki.

The MWL, which represents a large number of Islamic centres and organizations around the world, urged the Muslim Ummah to rise from its slumber and stand united to face growing challenges.

"The Muslim countries must keep away from provocative acts that are aimed at dragging Muslims on a collision course with those who want to achieve domination over them and occupy their land and resources," he said.

Referring to the killing of innocent people in Iraq by US and British invasion forces, the MWL Secretary-General said the Palestinian people were subject to similar aggression at the hands of Israeli occupation forces.

The MWL stressed the need to study the causes of international conflicts to prevent them in future. "Muslims would not have been vulnerable to attack if they had followed the teachings of Islam and avoided internal differences," the MWL chief said.

Dr. Al-Turki urged Muslims to unite under the banner of Islam. "Hold fast the rope of God, all of you together, and be not divided among yourselves," he said quoting a verse from the Holy Qur'an.

Dr. Al-Turki warned against creating divisions and factions among Muslims and said God would punish those responsible for causing division in the Islamic religion and weakening the strength of the Muslim Ummah.

He called upon Islamic scholars to work for the unity of the Ummah and enhance the Islamic awareness of Muslims. He also urged Muslim countries to implement Islamic law and adopt a united stand on regional and international issues.

200,000 Stage Anti-US March in Pakistan

LAHORE -- An estimated 200,000 people took to the streets of Lahore on 23 March in what is believed to have been Pakistan's biggest demonstration yet condemning the US-led attacks on Iraq.

Chanting slogans and burning effigies of US President George Bush, protesters demanded an immediate end to the war.

Responding to a call by a six- party bloc, the Islamic alliance

of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), protesters swarmed a three-kilometre stretch of the eastern city's main Mall Road.

"It was like a human tempest, one could see only heads of people," an AFP reporter watching the crowd from a rooftop said.

Chanting "Allah-o-Akbar) (God is great), the marches carried banners attacking Bush and Blair. "Stop spilling blood, no to US terrorism" and "Iraqi Muslims, we are with you," posters read.

MMA leader Fazlur Rahman told the emotional crowd the US would be trapped in a "quagmire" in Iraq.

"It did not attack Iraq, it signed its own death warrants," he said from a makeshift stage at the heart of the demonstration.

"This massive rally has proved that the government stance is not the stance of 140 million Pakistanis," he said, urging the people to boycott US products. MMA President Mian Maqsood said it was the biggest ever anti-war demonstration in Pakistan.

On 23 March's Protest was the first large-scale demonstration against the invasion since US and British bombs and cruise missiles began raining down on Iraq at dawn. Before the march, protesters thronged the city's main Nasir Bagh Park, burning US flags and Bush in effigy.

MMA spokesman Riaz Durrani earlier told AFP "The rally was the biggest in the country since US started bombing Iraq on 19 March."

"People are furious over US brutalities," he said, adding the demonstration was to express "public anger and hatred against US tyrannies." Anti-war protests have been staged by angry Pakistanis daily since the war erupted in Iraq. - SG

Saudi Shoura Council Calls for End to War

RIYADH - The Shoura (Consultative) Council on 22 March called for an immediate halt to the US-led war on Iraq, and accused the United States and Britain of undermining international law.

"The lives of millions of brothers in Iraq is in danger," the Council said following its regular meeting in a statement carried by the official SPA News agency.

It called for "an immediate halt to war, a return to the (UN) Security Council, and the implementation of international resolutions."

The United States, Britain and their allies have opted for war instead of diplomatic means, making a farce of international law and the calls of millions around the world for peace.

The Council, presided over by its Chairman Sheikh Dr. Saleh Ibn Abdullah Ibn Humeid, stressed that the international legitimacy resolutions should be adhered to in all conflicts.

The Council expressed its solidarity with the brotherly Iraqi people and called for maintaining Iraq's independence and national unity and for running its resources by its citizens.

The Council stressed that the Kingdom's religion and unity at this juncture and under all circumstances are the major pillars to protect the country from dangers that might threaten it.

The Council expressed its support for all steps taken by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to save the region from the consequences of war that will cause destruction and damage to the region's peoples and threaten world peace.

The Council prayed to Almighty Allah to maintain security for Saudi Arabia and preserve the country as well as Arab, Islamic and all countries from any harm. - SG

Nearly 50 Killed As US Targets Kurdish Islamist Groups

HALABJA, IRAQ - The United States widened its war in Iraq on 21 March with a massive missile blitz on two Islamist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan alleged to have links to Al-Qaeda, killing at least 50 people, officials said.

Mustafa Sayed Khader, a top military leader of the pro-US Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the US attack on Ansar Al-Islam (Supporters of Islam) in the early hours of the day included a two-hour bombardment by some 50 cruise missiles.

And in a apparent retaliation, an Australian journalist was killed in a car bombing while visiting an area near the strikes. "Ansar positions were bombarded by around 40-50 cruise missiles. The missiles hit Ansar centres.

There are many dead and injured, although we don't know how many for sure," Khader told reporters in Halabja, a PUK-held town near Ansar-held territory.

Ansar Al-Islam controls a tiny pocket of territory between Halabja and the Iranian border, an area around 80 kilometres (50-miles) southeast of the PUK's administrative centre of Suleimaniya.

The group, which models itself on Afghanistan's deposed Taleban, has been accused by the US of trying to develop crude chemical weapons, and of having links to both Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network and Saddam Hussein's regime.

But in a surprise move, the US also conducted strikes against the base of a mainstream Islamic party, Komala Islami Kurdistan (Islamic Society of Kurdistan), in the small town of Khormal, killing at least 50 people.

An official from a local moderate Islamic group, the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan (IMIK), said he saw at least 50 bodies from a missile strike on another Komala office and added that the injured had been taken over the border to Iran for treatment.

"Near Khormal there is another Komala office that was destroyed. There were 45 people inside and all of them were killed," said the IMIK's Kamal Haji Ali.

Another IMIK official later put the toll at more than 50, while residents fleeing the town in terror said up to 100 died in the strikes, which scored accurate hits on Komala offices where faction officials were meeting. It was nuclear why Komala was targeted, but the Khormal site was identified last month by US Secretary of State Colin Powell as an Ansar chemical weapons plant.

And a top PUK official said the group, which has offices across Iraqi Kurdistan, had failed to co-operate with the PUK in their fight against Ansar.

Komala's base at Khormal lies between PUK and Ansar positions. Residents were pouring out of Khormal throughout the day, and an Australian journalist working near the entrance to Khormal was killed when a taxi packed with explosives drove out of the town and blew up. Three PUK Kurdish peshmerga were also killed and another journalist wounded. The driver of the taxi was also killed, witnesses and colleagues of the dead journalists said.

Details on casualties from the strikes on Ansar - blamed for a series of suicide bombings against the secular PUK - were not immediately available.

Clashes could be heard between Komala and PUK forces on 21 March afternoon and eyewitnesses said there had been a retaliatory bomb attack on the nearby main road. Despite the blitz, Ansar appeared to be holding its ground, but there was a massive PUK build-up in the area. - AFP

Islam Has Definite Guidelines on Rights of Combatants & Non-Combatants

JEDDAH - The decades of suffering by the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation, the war in Kosovo and now the attack on Iraq - these and many other armed conflicts raise the issue of human rights in wartime.

After World War II, guidelines were set to protect the lives of innocent civilians at times of conflict and define the rights of all human beings at all times and everywhere. These guidelines were articulated by the countries that won the war and that had recently relinquished their control, grudgingly, over the countries they colonized for centuries.

The concepts they presented in their doctrines might have seemed new and inspirational to them, but a recent research paper entitled "Human rights in Islam" explains how Islam defined these concepts and implemented them more than 1400 years ago.

Dr. Rawya Al-Thahhar, professor of Islamic Jurisprudence at King Abdul Aziz University, Madinah branch, received the Madinah Award for Best Scientific Research in 2,000, and the paper was published two months ago.

It documents the human rights defined by Islam and compares them to the International Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. "I looked at the origins of human rights in Islam, their sources and regulations, and compare them to the International Declaration of Human Rights," Dr. Al- Thahhar told Arab News.

"I find that Islam is more deserving of being described as international than the International Declaration of Human Rights because it does not discriminate and does not favour certain groups of people over others," she said.

Unlike in the West, the concept of human rights is not new in the Islamic world. Islam declared from the start that all people are equal and free.

"There is deliberated misrepresentation of Islam by some non-Muslims who have studied it," said Dr. Al-Thahhar. For example, regarding the issue of women's rights, "Islam treated men and women equally at a time when the West was debating whether women and had a soul and treated them as property."

In war, Islam forbids the destruction of homes, trees and places of worship and the killing of women, children and the elderly. It called for the humane treatment of the dead, the wounded and prisoners. "These are Islamic principles which the West in all its wars has never respected," said Dr. Al-Thahhar. "The US, the country carrying the banner of human rights, is the first to disregard them when it comes to other people," she added.

Based on verses from the Holy Qur'an, the words and conduct of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), and the of those caliphs after him, Dr. Al- Thahhar identified the rights of humans according to Islam.

"In Islam there are executive laws governing the treatment of people and the conduct of war, but with the International Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention the statements amount to nothing more than recommendations that are not enforced," Dr. Al-Thahhar said. - AN

15,000 Embrace Islam in 16 Years

RIYADH - The number of persons who embraced Islam in the last 16 years at the centre of foreign communities enlightenment in Bureida, Qassim region, amounted to more than 15,000, said report released by the centre.

The report noted that the centre included 37 branches throughout Qassim region, and the department of Call and Education at the centre had so far delivered more than 8,000 lectures in various languages

On the other hand, the centre organized training courses in the Holy Qur'an, Islamic creed and jurisprudence, the biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and means of Islamic call in Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Filipino, Indonesian, English, Persian and other languages.

Meanwhile, the female department at the centre organized 1,700 lectures in the last 11 years. On the other hand, the centre printed about one million books at the cost of SR5million, and sent more than three million books in ten languages to more than 18 countries.

It also distribute more than 100,000 copies of the Holy Qur'an and more than 130,000 books containing the translation of the meanings of the Holy Qur'an inside and outside of Saudi Arabia.

The centre also built more than 170 mosques inside and outside of Saudi Arabia.

The report pointed out that the centre has been calling the non- Muslims to embrace Islam, and teaching the Muslims the fundamentals of Islam, and correcting all wrong ideas about it. - SPA

Sahih Al-Bukhari

Narrated Abu Saeed Al-Khudri: Somebody asked, "O Allah's Apostle (peace be on him)! Who is the best among the people! Allah's Apostle (peace be on him) replied "A believer who strives his utmost in Allah's Cause with his life and property." they asked, "Who is next?" He replied, "A believer who stays in one of the mountain paths worshipping Allah and leaving the people secure from his mischief."

FROM THE HOLY HARAMS

Stand United in Crisis &Adversity

MAKKAH/MADINAH - Sheikh Saleh Ibn Muhammad Al-Talib, the Imam and Khateeb of the Holy Haram, in his Friday Khutbah said, "The Muslim Ummah, which has been honoured with the guidance of the Holy Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad's (peace be on him) Sunnah, should hold fast to the divine faith and seek Allah's mercy," especially in these times of "hardship and adversity" being faced by them.

The nagging problem faced by Muslims today should bring them closer to their Lord and make them repent for their past sins, and encourage them to the righteous (henceforth). The catastrophes are trials from Allah to put to test the strength of faith Muslims have in their Lord, and help will surely come to them if they remain steadfast in the belief of One and Only Lord.

"Materialistic pursuits and obsession with worldly passions have blinded the vision and hardened the hearts of people, so they do not see anything beyond their physical pleasure, which in turn has led them to a life of anxiety, engendering fear of the future, which makes them forget that there is a divine purpose behind every trial, that is, to test the faith of believers. Belief in Allah is a sure way to the peace of mind, and true believers fear no one besides their Lord," Sheikh Al-Talib said.

"The hearts of unbelievers are always full of fear and uncertainty. Life is replete with various manifestations of grief, calamities, diseases, anxieties, poverty and wars, that can break the back of any one, but Allah, Who is Compassionate to his servants has kept open to them a door through which they can receive His mercy, get relief from agony and regain peace and tranquillity, and that is the door of supplication (Dua), beseeching Allah to ease their suffering, and release them from pain," Sheikh Al-Talib said.

Allah says in the Qur'an: "When my servants ask you concerning me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me: let them also, with a will listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right war.' (2:186),"

"Supplication is the most beloved form of worship to Allah, for it is a means to observe forbearance for the sake of Allah and entrusting one's affairs to Him. It is a simple form of worship that comes handy at every place and at any time. Sincere and whole-hearted supplications can help in getting several afflictions removed, sins and acts of disobedience forgiven by Allah and elicit Allah mercy and forgiveness. There are over 300 verses (Ayats) in the Qur'an which can be recited on any occasion when a believer faces hardship in life and asks Allah to lift the tribulation and grant comfort," he said.

"However, the supplication should fulfil certain conditions to be acceptable to Allah. A supplicant must have an absolute belief in the unity of Allah and seek from Him alone whatever he wants: for He alone is able to grant either good or bad. Addressing supplications to any one other than Allah such as angels, demons, dead persons or other mortals is a sign of weakness of belief in Allah Almighty, and (such un-Islamic practices) should be shunned," he advised.

"Supplications of those who do righteous deeds and refrain from sinful acts, have better chances of being answered. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and all the prophets who preceded him, made supplications to Allah frequently in order to receive His grace and mercy in times of distress, and whenever they needed something good, and ward off evil," Sheikh Al- Talib said.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Ibn Abdur Rahman Al-Hudhaifi, Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet's Mosque, in his Khutbah said, "The greatest objective of Islam is to reform hearts and reform the behaviour of its followers by urging them to believe in the Oneness of Allah and worshipping Him alone, loving what He loves and hating what He hates; both in words and deeds, overtly and covertly.

And one of the greatest injunctions of Islamic Shari'ah is the unity and amity among Muslims, for through unity and co-operation can they achieve what is good for them in this world and in the hereafter. Allah Almighty and His prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), have forbidden dissension and disunity by saying that if 'you disagree amongst yourselves, your hearts would be alienated from one another, and you will be weakened.'

Unity is required at all times, but in times of crises and adversities, it is a must, " Sheikh Al- Hudhaifi pointed out. "Unity is strength for Muslims, the Prophet (peace be on him) said,' and ordered Muslims to close ranks behind their Imam or leader. In this way Muslims can protect their lands and religion.

He has warned against sedition and falsehood as these can lead to discord and weakness," Sheikh Al-Hudhaifi added. "Therefore, Muslims should always seek consensus, closing of the ranks to stand united in the face of trials and challenges. The way out from the difficulties and hardships faced by Muslims is repentance by all Muslims and by holding fast to the Holy Book and the prophet's Sunnah," he concluded. - SPA

OIC Ready to Broker Truce in  South Philippines: Envoy

DAVADO CITY - The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) would broker a meeting aimed at forging a cease-fire between the government and Moro fighters whose relationship soured after the military attacked the Buliok Complex in Pikit, North Cotabato, late last month.

But Libyan Ambassador Salem Adem expressed misgivings as a court issued warrants of arrest against nearly a hundred of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters, including MILF chairman Hashim Salamat and other key officers, in connection with the Davao City Airport bombing.

The OIC earlier assigned Libya and Malaysia to draft the mechanism for the meeting, said Adem.

Adem said on 14 March here that the government was informed of the Islamic countries' move during a discussion between the Department of Foreign Affairs and heads of mission of the OIC member-countries.

"We had a long discussion for a cease-fire," Adem said.

He said that the discussion was attended by Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, who represented the president.

Adem said that the proposal for a government meeting with the MILF to discuss a possible cease-fire came about after the OIC head of mission reacted to the situation obtaining in Central Mindanao.

He said representatives of the OIC member-countries were briefed by the government officials in charge of the evacuation centres in Pikit, North Cotabato, "and we believe that the problem (of the evacuees) is not only medicine and food."

"They left their homes and they have apprehension about going back," he said. "The OIC heads of mission are concerned about that." Adem went to Pikit with Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Solaiman. They too distributed medicines and food to the evacuees.

He said that the OIC has asked the ambassadors of Libya and Malaysia to draft the mechanism for the meeting of government and the MILF representatives.

"We are now drafting the mechanism," he said.

Adem admitted, however, that there would be a problem in drafting of the mechanism because of the issuance of the warrant of arrest against the MILF leaders.

Nonetheless, he said, " (the warrant of arrest) would not affect the move to bring them back to the negotiating table." He stressed, however, that "if any of them would be found guilty, then they should face the law."

"What happened was a terrorist act, because they targeted civilians. It is a crime," Adem said.

In a radio discussion among the top-ranking leaders of the MILF and the National Democratic Front and Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Vicente Emano government representatives, the MILF said that it remains open to a "peaceful and negotiated political settlement of the Mindanao problem ."

"The government should learn to implement all the agreements that we have signed since 1997 to 2003," said Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim, the MILF vice chairman for military affairs. Murad was also the head of the MILF negotiating panel.

"We are open to the talks, if we can be convinced that the government is sincere," he added.

Envoys Cancel Trip to ARMM

Representatives of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) have cancelled their visit to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao owing to the volatile law and order situation in the region characterised by sporadic armed confrontations and bombings.

Gov. Parouk Hussain of the ARMM said on 15 March the OIC representatives were expected on 17 and 18 March. "They were concerned about their security that's why they postponed their trip to the region."

Hussain said there were efforts to convince the OIC representatives to push through with the visit but to no avail. The representatives were supposed to assess the implementation of the 2nd September 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

ARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Tawitawi, Basilan (with the exclusion of Isabela City), and Marawi City.

He added that another OIC team was scheduled to arrive next month to follow- up the supposed findings of the cancelled party's recommendation.

Hussain said the OIC team did not say when they will come. Hussain believes they will stay away as long as hostilities continue. He urged government and the MILF to declare a bilateral cease-fire and return to the negotiating table.

According to him, the series of armed confrontation with Moro freedom fighters in Central Mindanao have displaced 120,000 evacuees from 12 towns of Maguindanao. Fr. Roberto Layson, parish priest of Pikit, said some 40,000 evacuees have been staying at 16 evacuation centres in his town since the war erupted on 11 February. - Today

Anti-Muslim Wave in India

Dr. Nora Ahmad

THIS month, the fascist, regional outfit suddenly announced its plans to go national and become an all-India party. The notorious Shiv Sena's ambitious blueprint for expansion, announced after the Party's first-ever organisational elections, has been welcomed by Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other hard-line Hindu groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal and Visha Hindu Parishad.

The far-right Shiv Sena party of Bal Thackeray in Maharashtra, India's richest and industrially most advanced state.

The Shiv Sena has opened offices in several cities of key states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and has threatened to open its offices in all corners of India by year-end. The BJP's open support for the Sena's latest move is not surprising - the two shared power in Maharashtra state from 1995 until they lost the state elections in 2000.

Four out of 15 Sena Members of the National Parliament, all elected from its traditional stronghold of Maharashtra, are ministers in Vajpayee's Cabinet. They are from the same ideological stock and have many common goals. Political commentator, Praful Bidwai and other analysts said that the Sena is now determined to consolidate its position nationally by exploiting escalating tensions between Hindus and Muslims across the country since the state-sponsored pogrom in Gujarat in which more than 2,000 Muslims were killed.

Anti-Muslim spree tops the Sena's fanatical agenda and has paid rich dividends in the past. It was voted to power for the first time in 1995, two years after the fiercest anti- Muslim riots in Bombay, capital of Maharashtra, which left 300 dead and totally polarised Hindus and Muslims. An official inquiry commission headed by Justice Srikirishna severely indicted Thackeray for engineering the riots and leading his army of 40,000 thugs "like a general during war." Dozens of criminal cases were registered against Thackeray but he was not arrested - apparently to avoid retaliation by his storm troopers.

Thackeray, now 77, is an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler and is bitterly opposed to democracy and a free press, which he dismisses as "anti-people."

Founded by Thackeray in 1966, Shiv Sena, or Shiv's Army, is named after a 17th-century Hindu guerrilla chieftain who took on Muslim rulers. It adopted a militantly Hindu path in the mid-80s training its guns on Indian Muslims and Pakistan. In public speeches and his mouthpiece, Saamna, which means Confrontation, he refers to Muslims as "they", "that community" or "the circumcised ones."

With this kind of mentality it is difficult to perceive any possible solution for the Kashmir crisis in which such hard- liners like their Israeli counterparts will not dispose of any land that belong to Muslims. It is these fanatics the like of the rising Shiv Sena organisations and others who have a strong influence on government policies. The threat of nuclear weapons also is a real one. The international community must move in to solve the Kashmir crisis before another tragic war threatens the Asian continent takes place since Fascists aim to have wars.

VHP: Congress Allowed Demolition of Babri Mosque

BHOPAL - Praveen Togadia, General-Secretary of Hindu fundamentalist organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has held the Congress responsible for "opening the locks of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and allowing the demolition of Babri Masjid there."

Addressing a press conference here on 21 March he said the Congress had launched the movement for the Ram Temple and the VHP had merely taken it over.

He said the undisputed land at Ayodhya should be handed over to VHP with full ownership rights for the construction of the Ram Temple. The Parliament must also enact a law to facilitate construction of the Temple at Ayodhya, he added.

On allegations that the BJP played the Hindutva card in Gujarat, where it succeeded, and again in Himachal Pradesh, Togadia said neither he nor any other VHP leader had visited Himachal Pradesh before the assembly elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won the Assembly elections in Gujarat by playing the Hindutva card, but failed miserably in Himachal while employing similar tactics.

He said VHP did not receive any contribution or donation from any foreign country, adding that the Nagpur unit of VHP had received some checks from abroad but were ordered to return them.

Meanwhile, Togadia has alleged that the Madhya Pradesh government had arrested Acharya Dharmendra, a prominent VHP leader, with an eye on the Muslim vote-bank. He demanded his immediate release. He said that Congress- ruled Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh should be prepared for a Hindu backlash.

Denying that there was anything "inflammatory" in Acharya's speech, Togadia said VHP would go to the people's court by playing a recording of Acharya's speech all over the state on 17 March.

Acharya Dharmendra was arrested on March 16 at Ujjain railway station following a case registered by Dewas police against him for allegedly making an inflammatory speech at Dewas. - AN