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PDP `show' marred by NC, Cong. boycott

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR APRIL 18. The public meeting addressed by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, here today, the first in the State by a Prime Minister in 15 years, was a People's Democratic Party show all the way. However, the Opposition National Conference and the Congress were conspicuous by their absence.

The Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium, venue of the meeting, was a sea of green PDP flags with a few BJP flags thrown in. Thousands of people, who had been brought in buses from the rural areas by the ruling party MLAs, had filled the venue hours before the meeting.

Not present were the NC cadre, who had been asked not to attend the meeting, the three State Congress Ministers from the Valley, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Taj Mohiuddin and Ghulam Ahmed Mir, and another Congress MLA. All the Independent members in the coalition Government besides the Panthers Party chief, Bhim Singh, and his MLAs were present.

The entire area surrounding the stadium was full of police and paramilitary forces. Inside the stadium, hundreds of Special Protection Group personnel and policemen stood to prevent any untoward incident. The Governor, G. C. Saxena, the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Union Ministers, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, B. C. Khanduri, and Chaman Lal Gupta, and the State Finance Minister, M. H. Beig, were the only ones seated on the podium.

The Prime Minister distributed appointment letters to persons belonging to five families, victims of militancy-related incidents, as part of the healing touch policy of the State Government.

Earlier, the strike call given by All-Party Hurriyat Conference and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen evoked a good response. The capital's streets wore a deserted look, shops and business establishments downed shutters and traffic was completely off the roads.

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