Mallika Sarabhai leads a protest rally against hooch tragedy in Gujarat

July 17th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - The Crime Branch of the Gujarat Police arrested Vinod Dargi, the key accused in the Gujarat hooch tragedy, here on Friday. Police also arrested two other associates of Dargi, Ajay Thakkar and Sunil along with him.

July 15th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - A delegation of Congress legislators led by former deputy chief minister Narhari Amin has submitted a memorandum to Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma seeking stern action against those responsible for the hooch tragedy, which claimed 136 lives in Ahmedabad last week. The Congress legislators, who have launched a campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government demanding either Chief Minister Narendra Modi's removal or the President's rule following the tragedy, said in the memorandum Tuesday that the party urges the governor to intervene since the opposition members have not been allowed to raise the issue in the assembly.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress Party MPs today staged a protest against hooch tragedy in Gujarat that killed at least 130 people due to consumption of spurious liquor. Congress has alleged that a BJP Corporator of Mahemdabad Municipality was behind the hooch tragedy.

July 12th, 2009 AHMEDABAD J - The toll in the Ahmedabad hooch tragedy has risen to 127 following fourteen more deaths. According to police, 229 people are still admitted to various city hospitals.

July 11th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Rejecting liquor baron Viajy Mallya's suggestion to rethink the state's prohibition policy, the Gujarat government said, that he should look at his liquor business and keep out of state's affairs. With the death toll of state's worst liquor tragedy nearing 130, Mallya, the owner of United Breweries, had said the enforcement of prohibition is becoming a mockery, which leads to illegal, unhygienic and unsupervised production of poisonous cocktails that claim innocent lives, and called the politicians to rethink over the prohibition policy in the interest of the people.

July 10th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Schools and colleges remained closed in Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Friday as a mark of protest over the death of around 105 people due to consumption of spurious liquor. Cases of people dying after consuming spurious liquor were reported on Monday and by Thursday (around105 deaths were reported.

July 10th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ashok Bhatt Friday took serious offence when opposition Congress members arrived in the house wearing black dresses as a mark of protest against the hooch tragedy which has so far claimed 110 lives in Ahmedabad. Expressing his anger over the opposition members' black protest, Bhatt said the act was not in good taste and was against the traditions of the house.

April 15th, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Danseuse and independent candidate from Gandhinagar in Gujarat Mallika Sarabhai has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for making lotus 'mangal sutras' (pendant worn by married women) for the poll campaign. Mallika in her complaint has raised objections on the BJP using 'a symbol of pride for Indian women' as a tool for campaigning in the polls.

April 12th, 2009 AHMEDABAD/JAMMU - Bollywood actor Om Puri joined the campaign trail of Mallika Sarabhai in Gandhinagar, who is pitted against L K Advani, prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Om Puri recalled dancer Sarabhai family's contribution to the society.

April 6th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai Monday invited Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani for a public debate on his achievements during his last four terms as the MP from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat.

April 2nd, 2009 GANDHINAGAR - Noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai Thursday filed her nomination for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate against the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee L.K. Advani. Sarabhai said she was contesting the polls to give democracy back to the people of Gujarat.

March 25th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Noted danseuse and independent candidate from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat Mallika Sarabhai Wednesday regretted that the Election Commission 'does not have the teeth' to debar Varun Gandhi from contesting the polls despite his alleged 'hate speeches'. 'I am horrified by the comments made by Varun Gandhi.

March 20th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Declaring that she was not a political person but spoke for the people in Gujarat and the rest of the country, noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai announced Thursday that she would contest the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate from Gandhinagar to take on BJP's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani. 'A fight has to be worth a fight when someone takes on a personality like L.K.

March 20th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Renowned dancer and social activist Mallika Sarabhai has said that she would contest in the general elections as an independent candidate from Gandhinagar. This is the constituency from where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 's L K Advani was elected in the previous elections and is again contesting this time, also as the party's prime ministerial candidate.

March 20th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai announced here Thursday that she will contest the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate from Gujarat's Gandhinagar parliamentary seat and take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani. 'I will contest the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from Gandhinagar,' Sarabhai told reporters, adding that she will represent the 'secular forces'.