Plans protests in July against rise in prices of fuel.
Desperate for an issue to not only corner the UPA government but also forge much-needed unity, opposition parties led by BJP have lost no time in planning widespread protests against the Centre’s decision to hike prices of petroleum products.
JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav has already held talks with SP, PMK, INLD, TDP, JD(S) and the Left for a nationwide shutdown in the first week of July.
But BJP has announced a separate plan. It does not want to be seen as going with parties that backed the government in the budget session.
Reacting to Sharad’s initiative, BJP general secretary Anant Kumar said Mulayam Singh Yadav’s SP, Mayawati’s BSP and Lalu Prasad’s RJD must first clarify their role in bailing out the government.
By forging a front with SP and RJD, BJP does not want to send a wrong message. It will hold separate protests in state capitals and big cities on July 1. Party chief Nitin Gadkari would attend the Ratlam (MP) rally, while Sushma Swaraj would lead protests in Raipur (Chhattisgarh). Venkaiah Naidu would be present in Chennai, while Rajnath Singh would lead the show in Bhubaneswar.
BJP also announced plans to hold similar protests during the monsoon session of parliament. “Our MPs will march to Rashtrapati Bhavan when the session begins and present a memorandum to the president with 10 crore signatures,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, BSP and SP have decided to launch almost simultaneous agitations against the UPA regime. While SP has given a call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ on July 5, BSP will hold dharnas throughout Uttar Pradesh (UP) the next day.
SP chief Mulayam said the UPA government was insensitive to the problems of the masses and represented the interests of 120 hand-picked industrial houses.
BSP president Mayawati said the Congress was only interested in safeguarding the interests of capitalists who provided it funds during elections.
The Left parties will also hold a nationwide strike next month to protest the fuel price hike. The exact date will, however, be declared on July 1.
(With inputs from Deepak Gidwani in Lucknow and Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri in Kolkata)
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