India holds second round of vote

Hundreds of Indians voted in the wild and remote northeast yesterday in the second phase of a mammoth national election expected to return to power a coalition led by Hindu nationalists.

Defying threats by tribal separatists to attack anyone voting, men and women lined up at polling booths across Tripura, the only state voting in this round and accounting for just two of parliament's 545 seats.

The election is staggered over five voting days from Tuesday to May 10 to allow security and polling teams to move around the country. India sealed its troublesome border with Bangladesh before the vote in Tripura.

A bomb planted by Muslim militants went off in the heart of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar yesterday, killing two people as the city geared for the third phase of voting on Monday.

Militants have called for a boycott of the parliamentary elections saying these were not a substitute for the 15-year conflict in Kashmir that has killed more than 40,000 people.

Most television exit polls from just over a quarter of parliament seats that took the vote on Tuesday suggested Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's broad alliance winning a thin majority, enough to rule but short of current strength.

But Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born head of the main opposition Congress, played down the surveys and said her party was optimistic after the first round of voting in an election involving 670 million people.

"We have been in touch with our workers, with our candidates in the states where we have had elections and from there I get a very, very positive feeling," Gandhi said in a rare interview on the campaign trail in her constituency of Rae Bareli in northern India.

Opinion polls have a mixed record in the world's biggest democracy and voting patterns differ wildly in constituencies.

"Spaghetti bowl predictions, pick the exit poll that suits you," the Times of India said referring to differing polls.

About three-quarters of the electorate has yet to vote, and just 2 million of the 670 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots in Tripura.

Electronic voting machines are being used nationwide for the first time and have been transported by helicopter, bullock-cart and elephant to remote polling booths.

Hours into the vote, Indian paramilitary guards exchanged fire with a group of tribal insurgents about 30km east of Tripura's capital but the men vanished into the forests, a police officer said.

Tribal militants have called for a boycott of the elections in communist-ruled Tripura, accusing the federal government of plundering the state's natural resources and flooding the area with outsiders.

"We really need peace in the state. We are voting for communists because they will be able to help in this," 70-year-old Pratibha Rani Pal said.

Can I honestly tell you guys, this is sick to hear, you think i support this? this is the kind of stuff that makes us look bad, and is ruining our image. I am half muslim, i'm also half christian, that doesnt mean i hate either religions, i support both, but there's no point in bashing one, what does that do for you? your just sinking to their own level when you make fun of Prophet Muhammed, and the religion of islam. I know both religions, but not 100%, but i try to understand them both very well.

Amanda, please re-read my posts before stating I bashed Mohammed. I haven't - not once. I understand, however, that Islam, at it's root, condones agression against non-Islamics. One may argue it encourages it. As a result, I believe Islam is fundamentally flawed.

As far as your image? Well, perhaps it's time for your majority to stop quietly supporting terrorism. Unless, ofcourse, you can make the case that that isn't what is happening?

An injured Border Security Force (BSF) officer (C) is evacuated by his colleagues near the site of explosion after he was wounded in a grenade attack in troubled Kashmir's main city of Srinagar April 23, 2004. Two loud explosions were followed by heavy gunfire on Friday near the office of India's main opposition Congress party in Kashmir, witnesses said, days before the troubled region votes in national polls. Photo by Kamal Kishore/Reuters

The office of Indian's main opposition Congress party in Kashmir was attacked Friday by suspected Anti Indian Occupation Fighters.

Grenades were thrown and security forces were fired at days before the region votes in national polls.

The latest violence in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, followed calls by Muslim separatist groups to boycott the polls, which are being held in five rounds from April 20 to May 10. Srinagar votes on Monday.

Congress is part of a coalition ruling the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

At least two attackers threw grenades and fired indiscriminately as they tried to storm the heavily guarded office in the heart of the city before security forces returned fire, witnesses and police said.

The gun battle lasted more than 45 minutes and was interrupted by grenade blasts.

Three soldiers, including an officer, and two photographers were wounded in the shootout, a paramilitary officer said.

"All the people inside the Congress building have been rescued," said K. Srinivasan, a spokesman for the paramilitary Border Security Force. "Troops are looking for militants who may have sneaked into neighboring buildings."

Panic spread in the area and people fled, leaving streets deserted. Security forces blocked traffic on the busy street leading to the Congress office and markets in the area shut.

Suspected separatists hurled a grenade at the same office earlier on Friday but there were no reports of injuries, police said.

All I was saying was that a person doesn't know much about Islam if they think Muhammad was fighting defensive wars, or was not a thieving pirate, cold blooded murderer, torturer, rapist of the wives of killed victims, slave trader of their children, and illiterate religious plagiarist. That is so because that is what the Islamic scriptures (Haddiths) say. I wouldn't say it to you if Islam's "holiest" sources didn't say these things; and I am holding back from telling the worst of it.

http://www.answering-islam.org.uk/BehindVeil/

http://www.prophetofdoom.net/

http://fruitofislam.com/

http://www.faithfreedom.org/index.htm

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