Three women and a child were killed and about 30 people injured when terrorists threw two highly powerful hand grenades at a religious congregation of Nirankaris at Rayya in Amritsar district. The grenades were thrown by two cyclists passing by the Nirankari Bhawan shortly after 4.30pm when the congregation was in progress. Though there have been individual attacks on Nirankari leaders, this strike is the first of its kind.
BJP On Article 25
The Bharatiya Janata Party warned the government against amending Article 25 of the Constitution. According to them, the move was likely to be regarded by the extremists in Punjab as a surrender to threats. The national executive of the BJP felt the government’s proposal to amend the Article smacked of appeasement as it had come in the wake of the Akali’s constitution-burning campaign.
Centre vs Workers
The Union government said that it was now for the port and dock workers’ representatives to come forward with their next proposal because the government had already “stretched itself to the very liberal offer of 18.43 per cent increase.” Reacting to the joint statement issued by the Port and Dock Workers’ Federation, a spokesman said that the Rs 57 crore offer by the union leaders entailed a 28.3 per cent increase.
Space Countdown
The spaceship, Soyuz-11, is now perched atop a launcher. The final countdown has begun for the spaceship to soar towards the Salyut station bearing the Indian cosmonaut and his Soviet escorts. The testing of all systems for a final round has commenced and telemetered data is flowing to the computers of the central command centre.
