National
Sonia visits Malegaon
MALEGAON, NOV. 30. The Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, today visited this powerloom town, where 13 people were killed in largescale violence in October, as shops and commercial establishments remained closed in response to a call for a `Malegaon bandh' by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine to protest her visit.
Ms. Gandhi, also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was accompanied by the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, the State party chief, Mr. Govindrao Adik, and the senior Congress leader, Mr. Motilal Vora.
Thirteen people were killed and several injured in police firing and stabbing incidents after violence erupted in the township and nearby areas when police prevented groups from distributing pamphlets protesting the U.S. raids on Afghanistan.
Ms. Gandhi visited the Nav Kiran Sizing Mill, which was reduced to ashes in arson, and consoled the family members of Bismilla Bano and Bapu Bachhav, a Shiv Sena activist, who were killed in police firing in different localities in the town.
The Congress president, who camped awhile at the Government Rest House, distributed cheques of bank loans and insurance amounts to five persons whose properties were damaged in the riots. She also met delegations of political and social organisations and industrial unions and accepted their memoranda on various demands.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP had given a call for a `Malegaon bandh', alleging that ``with an eye on the coming elections, the Congress Government gave financial assistance on November 8 to the riot victims even before the judicial probe was completed''.
- PTI
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