Republic Day passes off peacefully barring 2 minor blasts in Assam

Barring two low-intensity blasts in Assam, Republic Day celebrations on Monday passed off peacefully across the country even as the states showcased the cultural diversity and the might of security forces. Amid multi-tier security, Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra took the salute at the Maulana Azad stadium in Jammu with no untoward incident being reported from any part of the state.

For the first time in a decade, mobile phone and Internet services were not disrupted in the Kashmir Valley as part of the security drill for the celebrations which took place at Bakshi stadium in Srinagar and other district headquarters. At three points along the Line of Control (LoC), Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged sweets even though areas along the border in Jammu and Kashmir witnessed regular ceasefire violations and infiltration bids from Pakistan.

In the oil town of of Digboi in upper Assam's Tinsukia district, two low-intensity bombs exploded but no damage or casualty was reported. While one blast took place under dumped garbage near a railway track, the other occurred in a drain under the garbage there, Senior Superintendent of Police AP Tiwari said. In the state capitals, Governors took the salute at traditional parades marking the occasion when on this day in 1950 India became a republic.

Chief Ministers unfurled the national flag as the states showcased the country's cultural diversity at parades where smartly dressed contingents of security forces held march pasts. Colourfully decorated tableaux also displayed the rich cultural traditions. In his Republic Day speech, the J-K Governor said that cross-border factors were responsible for the hurdles in development of the state, even as he stressed on the need for maintenance of peace and public order for sustained growth. In other state capitals, Governors and chief ministers asked militant and naxalite groups to shun violence and return to the mainstream for development and welfare of the people.

Vohra said, "It is a matter for serious concern that the past year witnessed repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement and continuing infiltration bids from across the International Border and the Line of Control." In Imphal, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh appealed to the insurgent groups to shun violence for the development of the state, saying violence will not bring any good and only make people suffer. Normal life was affected in Manipur due to a "general strike" called by various insurgent organisations, which alleged "forcibly merger" with the Union of India in 1949.

Nagaland Governor P B Acharya said to bring about lasting peace in the state, the ongoing talks between the Government of India and the Naga underground factions have to be brought to an amicable settlement. Unfurling the tricolour in Kohima, he asserted that the state government as facilitator will continue to pursue for an early solution to the Naga political problem to bring permanent peace in the state.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said his government will grant a special package for rehabilitation of Adivasi and other victims of ethnic clashes while asserting that actions were being taken to punish the culprits. He said due to effective handling of the situation, the violence was contained and normalcy returned to the area within a few days of serial attacks by NDFB(S) terrorists and and clashes last month that left at least 81 people, mostly Adivasis, dead.

Appealing to Maoists to shun the path of violence, Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed said terrorism and left-wing extremism were big challenges to the progress of the state and the nation. He said the state has taken a strong initiative in rooting out the extremism while lauding the initiatives in linking security strategies with developmental works in the state.

The Odisha government had sounded a high alert in all the districts after the Intelligence Bureau warned about possible terror attack in the state and neighbouring areas. However, no violence was reported from anywhere.
In view of a Maoist call for observing the day as 'black day', security has been tightened in southern and western regions with intensive patrolling by security forces and sealing of Odisha's borders with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Hoisting the national flag at the Assam Rifles ground in Agartala, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said a small section of people in the state was trying to foment communal tension between the tribals and non tribals to divide the state and this menace could be contained with the united force of all sections of the people.