On the eve of the Rasta Roko agitation by the Akalis, authorities in Punjab issued shoot-at-sight orders to prevent the burning of buses by agitators. Despite the Akali Dal’s assurances of peaceful protests, the authorities are taking no chances.
In a separate incident, nine people were killed and 15 injured when police opened fire on a 500-strong mob armed with lethal weapons advancing towards a relief camp in the Sibsagar district.
Meanwhile, a map published by the government of Bangladesh in 1981 has caused controversy by showing the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir outside the Indian union with dotted lines. Sikkim has been separately shown with thick outlines to mark international boundaries.
On the political front, Maneka Gandhi launched her party, the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch, with great fanfare at the Ferozshah Kotla grounds in New Delhi. The party’s one-day convention was attended by over 3,000 delegates from UP, Punjab, and southern states.
