Parivar to go ahead with Orissa bandh on Dec 25

Debabrata Mohanty
Posted: Dec 17, 2008 at 0022 hrs IST

Bhubaneswar: Unperturbed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s reiteration that he would not allow Orissa bandh by the Sangh Parivar on December 25, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Sradhanjali Samiti on Tuesday said it would go ahead with its earlier announcement as the state Government had failed to nab the killers and conspirators behind the killing of Saraswati.

On Monday, Naveen told the Orissa Assembly that the state Government would not permit the statewide shutdown on Christmas called by the Sangh Parivar. “No shutdown will be permitted on December 25. The Government will come down heavily on those who try to create any trouble,” the Chief Minister said. The police have already arrested seven persons, including four on Sunday, in connection with the killing of Saraswati.


The Samiti came down heavily on Naveen for his “pro-Church attitude” and warned him with dire consequences as the anger of tribal Kandhs was rising. “We had set a deadline of December 15. The state Government has failed to nab the killers and conspirators. So, we have decided to go ahead with the bandh call,” Samiti president Ratnakar Chaini told reporters.
“The bandh would be observed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. From 5.30 to 5.40 in the morning, people across Orissa would ring bells to wake up the state Government, which is in deep slumber.”

Chaini alleged that the state Government had so far arrested more than 800 Hindus in connection with the communal violence while it could nab only seven persons in connection with the murder case.

Meanwhile, a BJP legislator has alleged that one of the 10 accused arrested for the alleged rape of a nun in Kandhamal was blind. read it all