TIRUCHIRAPALLI: Bharatiya Janata Party President L K Advani has clarified that Hindu law will not be imposed on the people in the event of his party coming to power. Taking exception to the BJP being branded as communal by various parties, he accused them of spreading false propaganda that if the BJP was voted to power, it would impose Hindu law on all. Addressing a public meeting here on Saturday night, he said there were shortcomings in the personal laws of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Parsis and his party was for evolving a common civil code in consultation with the law commission.

No immediate threat to UF: Hegde

BHOPAL: Former Karnataka chief minister and Lok Shakti president Ramakrishna Hegde today said he did not visualise any threat to the United Front government at least for the next one year. Addressing a press conference here, he said in many states, the situation did not appear favourable for the Congress and the party would not call for an election unless it was sure of emerging as the single largest party. Hegde said the Bharatiya Janata Party was also not in a good position while the Janata Dal was ailing. He observed that regional parties had their own compulsions and the Left parties were unlikely to improve their position in the near future.

SAD (Badal) activists stage protest

NEW DELHI: Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) activists today staged a demonstration here demanding apologies from the Minister for Welfare, B S Ramoowalia, for his reported remarks against the party leaders. Leading the demonstration, Omkar Singh Thapar, former general secretary of the party, said Ramoowalia's recent comments on Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, and SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra, were ``unethical and unwarranted''. The demonstrators were arrested at Parliament street and later released.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.