Saturday, December 20, 2008, (Bhubaneshwar)
The bandh call given by the Sangh Parivar in Orissa on Christmas day has been called off.
The decision was taken after the leaders of Swami Laxmananand Saraswati Shraddhanjali Samiti met with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with BJP leaders.
Earlier, Naveen Patnaik had sent a letter of appeal to the Samiti to withdraw its proposed bandh on December 25 in view of the state government's sincere efforts to nab the killers of Swami Laxmananand as well as the conspirators behind the killings.
Leaders of the Christian community and other organisations have welcomed the decision
Updates from John Dayal
The bandh has been called off, but do not let it divert attention from the fact that fifty thousand kandhmal refugees will spend the Christmas as follows:
- 30,000 in forest areas out of their villages
- 10,000 in government camps for refugees
- 10,000 in private and church camps in orissa, andhra, madhya pradesh
The debate in Lords, the sustained campaign by everyone put pressure on govt to put pressure on its bjp ally to put pressure on their VHP ally
the government has to now ensure mischief makers do not sabotage the peace.
