July 31, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 27, 1429

GAUHATI (India): After India’s government won a crucial confidence vote last week, there was relief and celebration in the victors’ camps.

And, for one central Indian lawmaker, there was also blood.

Kishor Samrite, a member of a key party that supports the ruling coalition, said he sacrificed more than 200 goats and four buffaloes at a 16th-century temple in northeastern India to thank a goddess for delivering victory to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government.

Singh and his Congress party survived the July 22 confidence vote after weeks of political uncertainty that nearly toppled the government. The last-minute support of Samrite’s Samajwadi party, a one-time opponent, was key to the victory.

Samrite, a state legislator in Madhya Pradesh, has been participating in rituals at the Kamakhya temple in Gauhati, the capital of the northeastern state of Assam, since Sunday. Animal sacrifices are traditional rituals at the hilltop temple, a famous Hindu pilgrimage destination.

The animal sacrifices have sparked controversy, however, as animal rights activists have held street demonstrations near the temple protesting Samrite’s prayer ceremonies.

“Animals cannot just be sacrificed for the interest of political leaders,” said Sangeeta Goswami, head of the Assam chapter of the activist group.

Samrite defended animal sacrifices, calling it “an age-old practice.”—AP