NEW DELHI, Mar 2 (UNI): US President George W Bush today said India,Pakistan and the United State must come together to fight terrorismand asked the two South Asian neighbours to make progress on alloutstanding issues including Kashmir.
"The bombing in Karachi is not going to prevent me from going to Pakistan," Bush told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Karachi bombing this morning is an indication that the war on terror was on, he said urging that the three nations "must come together to fight terrorism".
The terrorists have no conscience and it is difficult to reason with them, he said.
"They must be brought to justice," he added.
"We should defeat the ideology of terror with the ideology of hope and democracy," he said.
It is possible for people of different faiths to live together "precisely as this great democracy has shown to the world", the US President said referring to the multicultural society of India.
Bush said he was briefed on the bombing in which at least one US national was killed.
"We have sent our condolences to the family of the US victim and also to the people of Pakistan." He said he would discuss with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf the issue of terrorism.
"After all he has a direct stake in this fight.
Four times the terrorists have tried to kill him." It was important to talk to General Musharraf and also important to work with him in the fight against the scourge of terrorism, the US President added.
He said the call of history is to stand strong in the face of the attacks.
Bush said both Washington and New Delhi have been sharing intelligence on terrorism to protect each other.
The US President is leaving for Pakistan at the end of a three-day visit to India on March 4.
On the resolution of the Kashmir issue, he said the United States wants the two countries to work towards resolving all issues, including Kashmir.
PM went against Parliament motion by receiving Bush: Members NEW DELHI, Mar 2 (UNI): Demanding an apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for welcoming US President George W Bush, SP, Left, TDP and DMK members in both Houses of Parliament today lodged strong protests against his visit, saying receiving "a person condemned by Parliament" was an "affront to the nation".
Demanding suspension of the Question Hour to discuss the matter, they disrupted proceedings, forcing adjournment of Lok Sabha till 1400 hrs and Rajya Sabha till 1200 hrs.
As soon as both the Houses assembled, the members were on their feet shouting slogans, "Go Back Bush", "UPA government hosh me aao Bharat ka samman bachao" (UPA Government, come to your senses and save the honour of the country).
They sought to remind the government that Parliament had already passed censure motion against the US attack on Iraq and its continued occupation of the country, and Dr Singh has been a party to the motion against the Bush Government, when he was the leader of the opposition.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, senior Samajwadi Party leader Janeshwar Mishra and Left leader Nilotpal Basu said that in view of Parliament resolution passed by consensus, presence of President Bush in the country was an "affront to the House", and Dr Singh had defied all protocol of the House by reaching the airport to welcome him.
It was a clear case of compromising with the dignity of the House by the Prime Minister, they said.
Tenth class students have harrowing time reaching exam centres NEW DELHI, Mar 2 (UNI): With the capital virtually under siege due to US President George W Bush's visit, tenth standard students, who had to write their first CBSE paper today, bore the brunt of the elaborate security arrangements.
Despite starting early from their homes, scores of students had a harrowing time reaching the centres due to traffic jaand several routes being out of bounds.
Various parts of the city were gridlocked for hours from early this morning, making certain parts of the capital inaccessible.
Anxious students, accompanied by parents, had to walk long distances after abandoning their vehicles to reach the examination centres.
Large-scale anti-Bush protests by various organisations also added to the chaos.
Candidates coming from East, South and Central Delhi were the ones who faced most of the problems.
With the US President and First Lady Laura Bush, escortedby a 60-car motorcade, visiting various places across the city, Delhi Traffic Police had yesterday advised asking people to avoid several routes, including Connaught Place, Barakhamba Road and Parliament Street between 1000-1600 hrs.
Keeping in mind the "unprecedented situation", CBSE Chairman Ashok Ganguly had directed the examination supervisory to allow students to write their papers even if they were late.
"The students will not be stopped from appearing for the examination..
instructions have been issued to all schools," he added.
Class ten Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations commenced across the country today.
More than 6,46,366 pupils, including 3,77,448 boys, wrote the social sciences paper for the tenth class.
The figure for tenth class recorded an increase of 6.55 per cent from last year when 6,06,632 students appeared.
