July 16-31, 2010 3

Special on Dr. Shyama PrasadMookerjee's birth anniversary. 5

BHARAT BANDHNationwide Bandh...................... 6

MP BJP Executive meet............ 23

Swabhiman Samavesh inBangalore.................................. 30

ArticleRangnath Mishra Commissionreport is against National Interest

By Bhupender Yadav........ 25

Cover Photo : Opposition united tofight people's cause.

Publisher and Printer : Printed by Dr Nandkishore Gargfor Dr. Mookerjee Smruti Nyas, at Excelprints, C-36,F.F. Complex, Jhandewalan, New Delhi-55 and Published byDr. Mookerjee Smruti Nyas, PP-66, Subramanya BharatiMarg, New Delhi-03. Editor : Prabhat Jha.

ContactTel: +91(11) 23381428Fax: +91(11) 23387887

For Subscription : +91(11) 23005798e-mail address

kamalsandesh@yahoo.co.in

EditorPrabhat Jha, MPEditorial Team

Amba Charan VashishthDr. Shiv Shakti BakshiRam Prasad Tripathy

Vikash AnandDesign & Layout

Dharmendra KaushalVikas Saini

Editorial

Contents

SubscriptionAnnual Rs. 100/- || 3 years Rs. 250/-

u deZ.kkeukjEHkkéS"dE;± iq#"kks·Jqrs Au p lUU;luknso flf)a lef/kxPNfr AA4AA

Man does not attain freedom from action (culmination of the disciplineof Action) without entering upon action; nor does he reach perfection(culmination of the discipline of knowledge) merely by ceasing to act.

Bhagavadgita, Chapter 3, Text 4

Congress Congress Congress Congress Congress & UPA must read the UPA must read the UPA must read the UPA must read the UPA must read themessage of the Bharat Bandhmessage of the Bharat Bandhmessage of the Bharat Bandhmessage of the Bharat Bandhmessage of the Bharat Bandh

The Bharat Bandh called by BJP-led NDA was a grandsuccess. It gave voice to the pain and anger of the aam aadmicrying under the ever increasing weight of crushing prices ofessential commodities. The bandh presented a spectacle of desertedstreets, lifeless roads with nothing seemed moving in the townsand cities. The bandh itself became a living example and livehistory. People said that since the pre-emergency days of 1974-75of Jayaprakash Narain’s movement they had not witnessed sucha massive peoples’ rising against the policies of any government.

Congress Party and the UPA government led by it used everydirty trick and government machinery to prevent the people fromparticipating in the bandh. The unprecedented peoples’ supportand participation in the bandh is a slap on the face of theGovernment and the Congress.

The bandh was not a routine display of protest. It was theeffervescence of the pain and frustration of the people at the falsepromises and false claims of the Congress. It was the echo of thesound in the housewife’s kitchen; it was the cry of the childrenat the increasing weight on their backs and the rising cost ofeducation. The common man’s life is getting choked with the costof living rising at a lightning speed.

With BJP in the lead the opposition has displayed a rare senseof unity to give vent to the feelings of the people. Bharat bandhwas not a political trait but a social commitment to expression tothe feelings of collective pain of the people. BJP has provided to

"Inflation is taxation without legislation"-Milton Friedman

July 16-31, 2010 4

the aam aadmi the right to beheard at the national level.

Some months back on theopening day of the Budgetsession of Parliament the BJPworkers and the people drawnfrom all over the country hadknocked at the national capitalto warn the rulers of the painand anxiety of the people at therising prices. The work inParliament got disrupted. Yet,intoxicated with power theUPA remained unmoved.When still the Governmentraised the prices of petrol, diesel,cooking gas and CNG BJP hadregistered its strong protest thevery next day all over thecountry throughdemonstrations, dharnas andcandle-light processions. Butstill UPA did not take theseprotests seriously.

The declaration of theUnion Finance Minister, ShriPranab Mukherjee, on the eveof the Bharat bandh, that bandhor no bandh, prices will not berolled back, provided fuel to thefire of anger in the heart of thepeople. It was a sheer display ofarrogance in utter disregard tothe feelings of the people in ademocracy. Never had thecountry witnessed such an uglydisplay of political whim andegotism. The success of theBharat bandh has come as arude shock and challenge not

only to the country’s primeminister and finance ministerbut also to the Congress supremoSmt. Sonia Gandhi.

To bring the Congress-ledUPA down to the realities onthe ground from its high pedestalof haughtiness BJP had wagedthis fight of the common man.That alone was the way left.

Veteran RSS Pracharak and JournalistRamshankar Agnihotri passes away

Noted journalist and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)Pracharak Shri RamashankarAgnihotri died at a private hospitalat Raipur in Chhattisgarh on July7 following a brief illness. He was84.

Shri Agnihotri was Presidentof the Pandit Dindayal ResearchCentre at the Kushabhau ThakreUniversity of Journalism and MassCommunication at Raipur. He wasadmitted to the hospital six daysago with a heart ailment andbreathed his last at around 08:30in the morning.

Born on April 14, 1926 at Seoni Malwa in Madhya Pradesh'sHoshangabad district, Shri Agnihotri became the Mandla districtRSS Pracharak in 1944 and later did diploma in journalism fromthe Nagpur University in 1952.

He began his journalistic career by joining RSS journalYugdharm at Nagpur in 1951 and served the organisation foryears as a firebrand pracharak.

Shri Agnihotri was popular with his coverage on Emergencyand Ramjanmabhoomi movement, and became the editor ofHindustan Samachar in 2004.

He was actively associated with the Bharatiya Janata Partytoo.

The top leadership of the Party including Chairman of BJPParliamentary Party, Shri L. K. Advani, National President ShriNitin Gadkari and others have expressed their condolences on hisdemise. (UNI)

BJP will continue thisunrelenting crusade as long asUPA doesn’t understand thepain and plight of the aam aadmitill the Government rolls backthe prices. The bandh has clearlydemonstrated that the people arewith the BJP in this war againstthe wrong policies of thegovernment.

July 16-31, 2010 5

Dr. Syama PrasadMookerjee, founderPresident of Bharatiya

Jan Sangh, was born in Calcuttaon July 06, 1901. Dr. Mookerjee,the illustrious son of Sir AsutoshMookerjee, "the Tiger of Bengal"and Smt. Jogmaya Debi was astatesman who fought not onlyagainst foreign rulers but alsoagainst Indian detractors. Hecourageously evolved a differentapproach based on positivenationalism in opposition to thewavering and timid mindset ofNehruvian leadership.

Dr. Mookerjee was thegreatest fighter for united Indiaand a crusader against thecommunal politics of MuslimLeague. One should not forgetthat he played a crucial role inbringing down the MuslimLeague ministry in Bengal andforming a coalition Governmentof non-communal Muslim andHindus. He became theopposition leader when KrishakPraja Party - Muslim Leaguecoalition was in power 1937-41and joined the ProgressiveCoalition Ministry headed by AK Fazlul Haq as a FinanceMinister

He was a member of the firstNational cabinet led by the firstPrime Minister Shri JawaharlalNehru. It was due to hisstrenuous efforts and untiringlabour that the Hindu majoritypart of Bengal remained with therest of India, and thus the State ofWest Bengal came into existence.There was a tacit understandingbetween Dr. Mookrejee andSardar Vallabh Bhai Patel insolving the crisis in Hyderabad.It was his suggestion that as the

Prime Minister of IndiaJawaharlal Nehru was busydealing with Jammu andKashmir, the Home MinisterSardar Patel should deal withHyderabad.

On April 8, 1950 he resignedfrom the Cabinet as a protestagainst Nehru-Liaqat Ali pact.There was an acute disagreementbetween the two leadersregarding the effectiveness of thisagreement in finding a solutionto the minority problem in bothcountries. Explaining the reasonsfor his resignation Dr. Mookerjeein a statement in Parliament saidthat his differences werefundamental and, "It is not fairor honourable for me to continueas a member of the cabinet whosepolicy I cannot approve."

After coming out from theCongress he formed PeoplesParty of India in Bengal. He hadthe first meeting with Shri Gurujiat Calcutta RSS office and afterthat meeting he decided to formthe Bharatiya Jan Sangh. Dr.Mookerjee was formally electedas Jana Sangha President atKanpur session in 1952. It wasthe same year when the BJScontested the first GeneralElections. BJS had limited success

and it had only three membersincluding Dr. Mookerjee in thefirst Lok Sabha. He induced anumber of small parties andindependent members to join himto form the National DemocraticParty of which he became theleader. Once Nehru had said inParliament, "I will crush JanaSangha." Pat came the retort fromDr. Mookerjee, "I will crush thiscrushing mentality."

Syama Prasad Mookerjeepassed away in Srinagar (J&K)in wee hours of June 23, 1953.That marked the end of his 52-years of vigorous life, last fortydays of which were spent inimprisonment in a cottage nearSrinagar's Nishat Bag. Beforeentering into Kashmir Dr.Mookerjee told Atalji to pass onhis message to the entire countrythat he had openly violated thesystem of taking permit to enterthe state, a must in those days.By transgressing the permitsystem he wanted to demonstratethat J&K is an integral part ofIndia - and it is the fundamentalright of an Indian to travel acrossits length and breadthunhindered by law.

The conspiracy for Dr.Mookerjee's death deepensbecause no enquiry into his deathwas set up. The reason was veryobvious because the enquirywould have brought out only twothings either Dr. Mookerjee dieddue to medical negligence or wasdeliberately killed. His death stillremains shrouded in mystery.The nation salutes its brave sonon his 110th birth anniversaryon 06 July 2010.

(Courtesy: The booklet "TheMan and His Mission")

Special on 110th Birth Anniversary

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee : A Martyr and a patriot

July 16-31, 2010 6

Aam admi’s anger and impulsive supportagainst price rise brought India to acomplete halt as the nation witnessed a

historic bandh. People gave a voluntary support tothe cause that pinched everyone. As a result normallife was affected and business activities went outof gear with airlines canceling flights, trains gettingdisrupted, trucks and buses going off the roads,shops and educational establishments closedspontaneously and normal life was on hold inmany parts of the country on July 05 due to thedaylong shutdown called by BJP-led NDA andsupported by all major Opposition parties againstthe unprecedented hike in fuel prices and prices ofessential commodities during the Congress ledUPA reign.

The bandh and its success was historic for anumber of reasons — for its sheer spontaneity; forunifying the Opposition, and most importantly,bringing price rise as major plank against the UPA

Government’s economic policies.During the past months there had been several

protests against the galloping inflation and risingprices, but these agitations failed to bring the peopleon the streets largely because the Oppositionremained divided. With the BJP and Left, buryingtheir ideological differences for a cause that affectedthe whole nation and regional parties pitching in,the scale of such momentous protest did unnervethe Union Government. The bandh sponsors rightlyclaimed that India rarely witnessed such collectiveoutpouring of public anger against the Congressafter the dark days of Emergency.

The enthusiastic support the bandh attractedwas a clear indication that the aam aadmi hadfinally spoken and spoken loudly against theautocratic rule of Congress-led UPA which wasgiving little regard to the sentiments and hardshipsof the common people. It was a show of anger atUPA government failure to curb the rising prices

Nationwide Bandh against price rise

Historic response to BJP-led NDABharat Bandh

Vociferous vent to peoples' angerFrom Our Correspondents

United for people's cause

July 16-31, 2010 7

of essential commodities.The bandh was near-complete and evoked massive

response in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal,Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu, Odisha,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal, Uttarakhand andPunjab. It evoked mixed response in other parts of thecountry, but people’s anguish and anger was visibleeverywhere in the country.

BJP National President Shri Nitin Gadkari, formerBJP National President Shri Rajnath Singh, NDAConvener Shri Sharad Yadav (in Delhi), Leader ofOpposition in the Rajya Sabha Shri Arun Jaitley, BJPNational Vice-president Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqviand Shri Lalji Tandon (in Lucknow), BJP NationalGeneral Secretary Smt. Vasundhara Raje (in Jaipur),Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Shri Gopinath Mundeand BJP Maharashtra Unit president Shri SudhirMungantiwar (in Mumbai), along with around onelakh karyakartas were among those detained invarious parts of the country.

Bandh spontaneous in DelhiAfter several years, a complete and more

importantly, a spontaneous bandh was witnessed inthe national Capital with Metro, rail, bus and otherpublic transport services out of gear for most part ofthe day. BJP National President Shri Nitin Gadkariand former National President Shri Rajnath Singh,NDA convener Shri Sharad Yadav led the protestersat the historic Chandni Chowk in the Walled City areaof Delhi.

Addressing a huge protest rally on the occasionat Chandni Chowk, BJP National President Shri NitinGadkari asked the Congress-led UPA Government to

Advani thanks people forBharat Bandh successIn a

statement theChairman ofN a t i o n a lD e m o c r a t i cAlliance, ShriL. K. Advanithanked thepeople of thecountry form a k i n gBharat Bandha nunprecedented success.

Never before in the history of politicalagitations in independent India have somany opposition parties combined to registera joint protest on a single issue.

For several years now because of flawedpolicies, gross economic mismanagementand corruption – all at the UnionGovernment level, food prices have beensoaring sky high. As a consequence, thecommon man has been passing through aphase of intense agony. Hike in the prices ofpetrol and diesel has virtually been the laststraw.

Today’s is an extremely gratifyingdevelopment that opposition parties coveringsuch a wide political spectrum - from NDAto Left Front, to TDP, to AIADMK, to AGP, toS.P., to almost all other smaller parties whichare not co-sharers in Government’s guilt ofinflicting this burden of inflation on the aamadmi have come together.

The result has been a remarkablypowerful protest both in terms ofgeographical spread, as well as in terms ofspontaneity.

Containing inflation will require a seriesof firm and prudent measures. But today’sprotest having been focused mainly on thetotally unjustified hike in prices of petroleumproducts, the NDA demands that in deferenceto the wishes of the people, the price of petroland diesel be rolled back forthwith.

July 16-31, 2010 8

restrain the ever spiraling prices of essentialcommodities. He said this is just the beginning oftheir struggle and “if there is no rollback of pricesof petroleum products and essential commodities,the NDA will continue with its movement. Yeh totrailer hai”, he said, “film to abhi baki hai”. If thegovernment does not act, it will have to go. We willcontinue our movement until the UPA governmentis uprooted. This is the question of survival of thepoor,” said Shri Gadkari.

Training his guns at UPA Chairperson SoniaGandhi and Congress General Secretary RahulGandhi, he asked why are they silent on the issueof price rise? “They would talk about povertyabolition but on the contrary they are eliminatingpoor. If Congress remains in power, unemploymentand inflation will keep increasing. Farmers willkeep committing suicide. The Congress hasbreached the trust of common man,”the BJP president said.

He further said that PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh, aneconomist is to be blamed forskyrocketing prices and addedwrong economic policies haveresulted in inflation. He said he isready to talk to any leader of anypolitical party to discus the issue ofprice rise. “I do not believe in politicaluntouchability. The BJP is not arrogant. If I need tovisit the office of any political party, I will go anddiscuss. If any opposition party, which is honestand really wants to protest, we will surely jointhem. We are prepared to struggle in cooperation.Price is not a political issue”.

Addressing the gathering, NDA Convener ShriSharad Yadav said it is for the first time when theentire country is protesting together. “It has becomedifficult to survive. I must say, he is not ManmohanSingh, he is Mahengai Mohan Singh. If they(Congress leaders) do not restrain themselves, theywill have to go,” the JD (U) leader said.

Former BJP National President Shri RajnathSingh said he can notice anger in the eyes of commonpeople. Slamming the Congress government, hesaid during six year tenure of the government ledby Congress only certain individuals haveprospered. “There is no development of the country,inflation rate has increased. Whenever Congresscomes in power, prices increase. They arepunishing people who made them come into

power. By increasing prices of essentialcommodities, the government is extorting illegaltax,” Shri Singh said. He added, “The governmentis dancing to the tunes of America. We will raisethe issue in parliament in Monsoon session, whichis going to be started from July 26”.

Citing the telecom and IPL scams, SAD leaderSmt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said every citizen ofthe country has been affected by price rise. Shealso took a dig at the government over theexpenditure incurred on the CommonwealthGames. “Statistics shows 20 crores Indians sleepwithout food. 25 lakh people die because ofstarvation. If the government does not stop here,imagine, where will these figures reach? The Centreis deaf and dumb, it is blind also. The governmenthas planned to spend Rs 20, 000 crores forpreparation for the Commonwealth Games. This

is public money. For opening and closingceremony, they have planned to do fireworks worthRs 400 crores. When, the government will becelebrating, the children of poor will sleep withoutfood,” she said before they were arrested by policealongwith BJP National President Shri NitinGadkari NDA Convenor Shri Sharad Yadav,former BJP National Shri President Rajnath SinghMP, senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP ShriChandan Mitra and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Smt.Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

On the occasion, BJP spokespersons ShriPrakash Javadekar, BJP general secretary Shri VijayGoel, party’s national secretary Sushri VaniTripathi, Delhi BJP President Shri Vijender Guptaincluding various party workers and councillorswere also present. Over 5000 opposition leadersand workers were detained by police duringdemonstrations across the Capital as part of theBharat Bandh.

For the whole day Schools and othereducational institutions remained closed in Delhi.For the first time, Metro services were affected. Theactivists also demonstrated before Indian Railways

Delhi BJP to take price-rise protests to local areasOverwhelmed by the successful bandh called by the BJP against

price rise, Delhi BJP President Shri Vijender Gupta said the partywould further take the protest to local areas.

Terming the bandh as historical, he said the party receivedsupport from all sections of the society that reflected people’s angerarising due to the wrong economic policies of the Congress led UPAGovernment that led to ever spiraling prices of essential commodities.

July 16-31, 2010 9

by blocking several trains that resulted incancellation of some of them. Most of the markets,including the major ones at Chandni Chowk,Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Sarojini Nagar,Sadar Bazaar, Kamla Market, Rajouri Garden andshops on either side of Vikas Marg, remainedclosed till late in the evening. The protesters werealso closed shops at Khan Market. The markets atLajpat Nagar and Greater Kailash also remainedclosed. Bus services in the national Capital werebadly affected. Bandh in industrial sector wasalmost total. Police had to resort to lathicharge todisperse protesters at various places.

Massive response in MaharashtraThe country’s commercial capital and other

parts of Maharashtra came to a near halt as peoplefrom various walks of society respondedenthusiastically to a bandh called by the unitedOpposition led by BJP against the fuel price hike.

On a day whenthe agitators fromvarious Oppositionparties took tostreets affecting railand road traffic invarious parts of themetropolis, amajority ofM u m b a i k a r s ,including the StateG o v e r n m e n temployees, chosenot to venture out of their homes, thus contributingin a big way to the success of the bandh. While allthe educational institutions remained closed, taxiesand auto rickshaws went off the roads in themetropolis. The suburban train services gotdisrupted and the whole city wore a deserted look.

There was a very low attendance at allGovernment and private offices. Much to theembarrassment of Chief Minister who had directedthe State Government employees against stayingaway from work, only 10 to 15 per cent ofemployees turned up for work at the Statesecretariat. The bandh, in which workers belongingto all the Opposition parties led by BJP participated,also affected the air traffic. As many as 93 flightshad to be cancelled during the day. Deputy leaderin Lok Sabha Shri Gopinath Munde and BJP

Maharashtra Unit president Shri SudhirMungantiwar led the bandh in Mumbai and courtedarrest. In cities like Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad,Nashik and all other districts the bandh was neartotal.

Bandh near total in Uttar PradeshKaryakartas of Bhartiya Janata Party fought a

pitched battle with police as the Opposition-sponsored Bharat Bandh called to protest hike infuel prices, evoked a strong response in Uttar

Pradesh. Rail and road traffic in someparts of the state were affected andmarkets in all the cities, towns anddistricts of the state remained closedfor the entire day. The bandh was agrand success and passed offpeacefully with no untowardincident being reported fromanywhere in the state. According to

the police sources, over 1600 workers were takeninto custody under preventive detention.

It was a historical day when common peoplecame out of their homes to support the Bandh. Thepeople who came out on the streets not onlysupported the bandh but participated in it. TheBandh was successful despite BSP governmentattempts to derail the protest.

The epicentre of the protest was at state capitalLucknow, where BJP workers clashed with police.Police used force on BJP workers in front of VidhanSabha while it used water canons on others.

Police arrested senior BJP leaders, includingLeader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha ShriArun Jaitley, BJP National Vice-president ShriMukhtar Abbas Naqvi and UP BJP President ShriSurya Pratap Sahi. Party activists were blocking

July 16-31, 2010 10

the Vidhan Sabha Marg when the police used force.In Allahabad, protesters blocked the Lucknow-

bound Ganga-Gomti Express while in Varanasitrain services were stopped for some time. Trainswere also stopped at Phaphamau, Tundla, Raxauland Maduadih stations.

The Bandh was near total in eastern UttarPradesh where life came to a screeching halt incities like Varanasi, Allahabad, Chandauli, Mauand Jaunpur. Private schools were closed inAllahabad while attendance in offices was thin.In a sombre protest the BJP workers took out abullock cart rally in Varanasi.

Bandh throws life out ofgear in Jharkhand

The Bharat Bandh, called by the NDA and otheropposition parties in protest against the hike infuel prices, was peaceful, but it affected normal lifein Jharkhand. Shops in the State capital and otherparts of Jharkhand remained closed in support of

the bandh, whilebuses andt r u c k sremained off theroad all the day.In Ranchi, mostof the schools,colleges andb u s i n e s sestablishmentsr e m a i n e dclosed.

L e a d e r sand workers of major Opposition parties, includingthe BJP, the JD(U) held protest demonstrations atdifferent places in the State. The BJP workers ledby party’s National General Secretary Shri ArjunMunda, former party president Shri YadunathPandey and others led a large procession atFirayalal Chowk. It soon became a perfect NDAcombine after scores of JD(U) activists led by partypresident Shri Jaleswar Mahato joined theprocession.

Around 200 activists and party leadersincluding Shri Munda, Shri Pandey and ShriMahato were arrested.

In their address to the public, the leaderslambasted the Congress-led UPA Government atthe Centre for its anti-poor policies which included

increasing the prices of petroleum products.Questioning the vision of the economist PrimeMinister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Shri Arjun Mundatermed Singh’s two successive stints as theguarantee of the economic disaster for the commonman.

“It was a total bandh. People rose against thedevious policy of the Congress,” BJP spokespersonShri Sanjay Seth said. However, no untowardincident was reported during the bandh.

Reports from other parts of Jharkhand werealmost similar. Bandh affected normal life. InSimdega, 31 BJP activists were arrested. InJamshedpur, around 171 NDA activists, includingBJP vice-president Shri Dinesanand Goswami andsenior party leader Shri Saryu Rai, were arrested.Despite not keeping well, BJP State president ShriRaghuwar Das participated in a motorcycle rallyin support of the bandh.

Dumka, Bokaro, Jamshedpur and Dhanbadwitnessed a total bandh. The road transport washit badly in several parts of the State.

Successful in UttarakhandThe bandh call given by the BJP was successful

i nUttarakhand.E x c e p temergencyservices, allm a j o rm a r k e t s ,educationala n dcommercialinstitutionswere shut insupport of the bandh call. Describing the bandh asuccess, BJP leaders said that the massive supportto the strike called by them reflects people’s angerand disappointment against the policies of theCongress-led UPA Government.

General Secretary of the Uttarakhand BJP ShriSuresh Joshi said that the people voted for theCongress with a hope that the party would takecare of their concerns, but it failed miserably.Support of other political parties boosted the moraleof the agitating BJP. The activists also took outprotest march on the streets of Kumaon and urgedthe local businessmen and others to show their

July 16-31, 2010 11

solidarity against the Congress-led UPAGovernment at the Centre.

Shri Suresh Joshi claimed that the bandhreceived support from all quarters in Kumaon.Criticising the Congress for imposing suchunprecedented inflation on the common man, hesaid that the inflation is not because of the globaleconomic slowdown, as the Congress wants peopleto believe, but it is because of the wrong economicpolicies of the Centre. The BJP would counter suchanti-popular policies at all levels. “We are not hereto take any political mileage out of this bandh call.We want to raise the voice of the people,” he furtherasserted.

Terming Bharat bandh a huge success acrossthe state, State BJP president Shri Bishan SinghChaufal said that the party would intensifyagitation in the coming days against the spirallingprices in different parts of the State. He said thatthe people living in the mountainous areas of theState are facing tough times dealing with the prices.He said that activists raised their voices at blockand district levels to mark their resentment againstthe recent hike in petroleum products. He furthersaid that the bandh was for the people and by thepeople. “Hundreds of BJP activists stageddemonstration in all the districts of the State,” hemaintained, adding that the Congress-led CentralGovernment had promised that they will reducethe prices of essential commodities in 100 days,but the prices have gone up three to four times.

Got enormous response in OdishaThe dawn-to-dusk shutdown called by BJP-

led NDA against the price rise was spontaneousand almost total in Odisha, affecting normal life inmany parts of the state as road and rail serviceswere badly hit in the state. Themovement of vehicles in boththe state and the nationalhighway was affected.

At Berhampur, protestersblocked National Highway 5 thelife line of Odisha for five hoursresulting in long queues oftrucks on the road. Protesterssat on rail tracks and obstructedtrains at Bhubaneswar,Berhampur, Raurkela andvarious other railway stations.

The Air traffic was also affected. Although thestate government has not ordered closure of schoolsand colleges, most of them witnessed thinattendance.

The protests began at 6 am in all the majorcities, including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack,Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur. InBhubaneswar, Berhampur and Cuttack roads worea deserted look for at least 12 hours, as buses, carsand auto-rickshaws remained off the roads. Mostof the shops and business establishments andpetrol pumps remained closed in the State.However, the protesting parties exempted essentialservices like milk, water and hospitals from theirprotest schedule.

While in most cities bank services wereaffected, as the protestors picketed in front of suchoffices and customers and employees could notmake it to the office. Postal services were almostfully closed. Though schools and colleges wereopen, classes looked empty with low attendance.

As per the schedule, the BJP activists picketedin front of both the Central and State Governmentoffices and blocked roads in almost all parts of theState. In major cities, including state capitalBhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela andSambalpur, protesters marched as the day began.They shouted slogans against Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and Congress president Smt.Sonia Gandhi.

Along with the Bharatiya Janata Party, theruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and its allies alsoparticipated in the nationwide shutdown in thestate.

About 1,500 protestors were arrested whilepicketing at various places of the State. InBhubaneswar, 325 BJP workers were arrested.Those arrested included BJP State president Shri

Jual Oram, Stategeneral secretary ShriP r i t h v i r a jHarichandan etc.Support from generalpublic of the state tothe bandh reflects theanger againstdecision to hike pricesof petroleum productsas well as rise in pricesof essentialcommodities.

July 16-31, 2010 12

A total, peaceful shutdown in MPBarring some stray incidents, the 12-hour

Bharat Bandh called by the NDA protesting againstrecent hike in prices of fuel and essentialcommodities, passed off peacefully but affectednormal life across Madhya Pradesh, including theState capital Bhopal. All markets, educationalinstitutions and business establishments remainedclosed in the State capital and in Gwalior, Indore,Jabalpur, Ujjain, Satna, Bhind, Dhar and Morenaamid tight securityarrangements. Petrolpumps and cinema hallsalso remained closed invarious parts of the State.

Bus stands wore adeserted look as city buseskept off roads. Trucks toojoined the stir. However,essential services wereexempted from the purviewof the bandh.

The bandh evoked amassive response throughout the State. In Bhopal,where Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha SmtSushma Swaraj, flanked by State BJP presidentShri Prabhat Jha and many other leaders lead theagitation, all private schools, colleges and otherinstitutions remained closed.

The shutdown was complete in Indore. Shopsand commercial establishments were shut andGovernment offices wore a deserted look. In Indorethe BJP leaders, including Indore city unitpresident Shri Shankar Lalwani, took a ride onbullock-carts and horses, saying if the petrol pricescontinue to rise, people will have no other option.

The Gwalior division witnessed total bandh asalmost all private institutions, markets andeducational institutions remained closedthroughout the day. Buses of Madhya PradeshRoad Transport Corporation (MPRTC) remainedoff roads.

Several activists were arrested, whileprotesting near the railway station. Similarly, nineBJP activists were apprehended while making asimilar attempt in Jabalpur. Protesters stoppedHowrah-Mumbai mail for about 15 minutes atShridham station in Jabalpur division while theDamoh-Kota passenger was also stopped for a

few minutes at Sagar by BJP workers.Bihar grinds to a halt

Normal life was thrown out of gear in Bihardue to the nation-wide strike called by NDA toprotest against the fuel price hike, while 3,500supporters including senior leaders were takeninto preventive custody. Private buses and thoseof the Bihar State Transport Corporation were offthe roads and all schools, colleges and educationalinstitutions were closed, while shops and majorbusiness establishments too did not function,

police sources said.The strike call also

evoked good response fromMuzaffarpur, Gaya,Biharsharif, Bhagalpur,Begusarai, Motihari, Bettia,Siwan, Gopalganj, Chapra,Darbhanga, Saharsa,Khagaria and Katihar.

BJP National GeneralSecretary Shri RavishankarPrasad, National Vice-President Smt. Kiran Ghai,

State party president Shri CP Thakur led themovement in Patna. Among the protesters andbandh supporters taken into preventive custodyincluded BJP National General Secretary ShriRavishankar Prasad, National Vice-President Smt.Kiran Ghai, State party president Shri CP Thakur,besides JD(U) State president Shri Vijay KumarChowdhary, its national spokesperson ShriShivanand Tiwari and Rajya Sabha member ShriUpendra Kushwaha, official sources said.

NDA legislators, including Shri Shivaji Rai,Shri Bilat Paswan, besides, Rajya Sabha memberShri Anil Sahni and MLA Bilat Paswan were alsotaken into preventive custody while trying toenforce the shutdown at different places in theState.

Claiming widespread people’s support to thebandh, Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar said itwas high time the Centre rolled back prices ofpetroleum products. Asking the Centre not to makethe petroleum products price rise a “prestigeissue”, Shri Kumar said it should not become “aweapon to break the back of common people”. Headded, “In a democratic set-up, people’s mandatemust be respected and the Centre should worktowards addressing the problem for the purpose”.

July 16-31, 2010 13

Paralyses normal life inAndhra Pradesh

The Bharat bandh called by the oppositionparties in Andhra Pradesh largely passed offpeacefully barring a few stray incidents of violence,

as normal life came to a standstill in most parts ofthe State. Shops, commercial establishments andpetrol pumps remained closed in Hyderabad,Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and other majorcities of the State. The State Road TransportCorporation suspended its bus services.

Former BJP national president Shri MVankaiyah Naidu led the movement in Hyderabadand courted arrest. State BJP president Shri GKishan Reddy was not allowed by the police toleave his residence to participate in anydemonstration. Hundreds of workers of BJP weretaken into custody all over the State as they helddemonstrations at several places.

Successful in KeralaThe Bandh called by the BJP in Kerala as part

of the nationwide shutdown to protest against thefuel price hike and other UPA policies was totaland peaceful. The Congress-led Opposition UDFin the State had held extensive campaigns againstthe hartal but these failed to dampen the spirit ofthe people to respond overwhelmingly.

Though this was the second hartal beingobserved in the State within a span of ten daysover the same issue, it evoked huge response fromthe people. Public transport vehicles includingbuses, trucks, taxis and auto-rickshaws kept offthe roads all over the State and shops andcommercial establishments remained closed. Thehartal resembled a total bandh even in the remotevillages.

Two-wheelers were seen sparsely on the roadsat some places, especially in Kochi and

Thiruvananthapuram. The police said the Bandhwas peaceful with no untoward incidents beingreported from anywhere in the State. Theuniversities in the State had postponed all theexaminations and interviews scheduled for July05 and several private companies had declared itas a holiday in advance. Even IT facilities haddecided not to operate. Not many passengers werecaught unaware at railway stations and busstations as the hartal had been declared well inadvance.

Frequent hartals are not desirable in a statelike Kerala but we don’t feel today’s hartal isunnecessary,” said common people.

BJP and other opposition activists held protestdemonstrations in important towns and cities.Former State BJP president Shri PK Krishnadas ledthe demonstration in Kannur.

Peaceful in KarnatakaNormal life got disrupted with the day-long

NDA-sponsored bandh against fuel price hiketurning out to be a success. Several cities andtowns, including Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli,Dharwad, Belgaum, Haveri, Bagalkote, Mangaloreand Karwar shut down completely in response tothe strike call. Barring a few incidents of stone

throwing on Government buses, the bandh passedoff peacefully.

The ongoing Assembly session was disruptedand adjourned for a day by the ruling BJP memberswho shouted slogans against the UPA and theCongress. Members of the state ruling party led bySmt. Shobha Karandajle and others began shoutingslogans, holding placards against the Congress.

Information technology companies in the cityshut down their offices.

In Bangalore, hundreds of BJP workers, MLAs

July 16-31, 2010 14

and MPs courted arrest in protest against theCentre’s fuel policy. Talking to media persons thespokesperson of the BJP Shri S Prakash said thebandh call against the UPA Government’s policiesand fuel price rise was total in the State. He saidpeople volunteered to participate and protestedagainst fuel hike all over the State.

“The bandh call given by NDA was total inKarnataka. It was peaceful and complete. Bangaloreis shut down. In fact, all IT companies have closedtheir operations. Many of our legislators and MPsand hundreds of party workers got arrestedprotesting against price rise. The bandh is total inall parts of Karnataka,” Shri Prakash stated.

Almost 100 per cent success in GoaGoa was virtually brought to a standstill with

the Bharat bandh against the recent hike inpetroleum prices. The bandh was described as ‘near100 per cent success’, by the BJP, which along withother opposition parties in the country had giventhe strike call.

Markets were deserted and schools nearlyempty. Most business establishments shut downduring the day. People overwhelmingly respondedto the bandh call given by BJP

Rajasthan at standstillNormal activity throughout Rajasthan came

to a standstill on July 05 in response to the Bharatbandh call given by the BJP. Most of the educationalinstitutions and business establishments remainedclosed. The city’s private bus operatorsalso joined the bandh and did not plytheir buses in the State capital. WalledCity, the business hub, wore a desertedlook as all shops were closed.

Smt. Vasundhara Raje, former ChiefMinister and BJP National GeneralSecretary courted arrest in Jaipur. Stateparty president Shri Arun Chaturvediand a large number of leaders and partyworkers were with her at Badi Choparin the Walled City, and they too werearrested.

Party workers in other parts of theState took out processions and offered arrest.According to party leaders, the bandh wasunprecedented. Reports coming from other partsof the State indicated that the bandh was nearly

complete in major towns like Kota, Udayapur etc.

Near total in ChhattisgarhThe nationwide bandh called by the BJP and

other political parties against increase in fuelprices, turned out to be near total in Chhattisgarh.The capital Raipur witnessed a historic shutdownas all the private business establishments andschools remained closed. Similarly all thecommunication system including auto-rickshaw,buses and taxis went off the road in protest againstthe hike.

According to reports coming from other partsof the State said several places, including Bilaspur,Rajnamngaon and Raigarh, protesters squattedon the railway track. Even petrol pumps remainedclosed everywhere, while medicine shops werekept out of the protest. The flights were canceledin view of the bandh while examinations were alsopostponed.

Greatly successful in GujaratThe day-long Bharat bandh called against

rising fuel prices passed off peacefully in Gujarat,and was largely successful. While schools andcolleges in the State were declared closed, CentralGovernment offices wore deserted look due to thinattendance.

Though the call for the bandh was given inprotest against the rising prices, the BJP in Gujarathad also included in its agenda the issue of misuseof the CBI against lawfully elected Narendra Modi

Ministry.As the

Gujarat StateP e t r o l e u mD e a l e r sAssociation toohad extended itssupport to thebandh, most of the2,200 petrolpumps in theState remainedclosed till theevening.

Shops and other trading establishmentsremained closed but small neighbourhood shopsdealing with daily necessities like milk andgroceries functioned normally throughout the day.

July 16-31, 2010 15

The National DemocraticAlliance is outraged by theappalling insensitivity of

the Central Government inimposing a massive burden onthe people in the form of highertaxes on petroleum products andthe proposed dismantling ofAdministered Price Mechanismfirst for petrol and subsequentlyfor diesel.

The hefty increase in theretail prices of petrol, diesel, LPGcylinders and, most importantly,kerosene could not have come ata worse time. Food inflation isrunning at approximately 18 percent, a whopping rate byinternational standards. TheGovernment's assurances ofcontrolling prices areincreasingly sounding like acruel joke. Knowing full well thecascading effect of fuel pricehikes on all commodities, theGovernment, which claims it hasthe best economists of the countryrunning the system, showed uttercontempt for the concerns of theaam aadmi in whose name itsought votes just one year ago.

In two phases over the lastsix months, price of petrol hasbeen raised by Rs 6.44/litre,diesel by Rs 4.55/litre, LPGcylinders by Rs 35 and keroseneby Rs 3/litre. It appears that theGovernment is determined tosystematically starve the peopleof India who are already

groaning under unprecedentedhigh prices of food. Now they willnot be able to afford even the fuelto cook the meagre amount offood that an average family can

still buy.Moreover, the decontrol of

petrol and diesel prices at thisjuncture will leave ordinarypeople at the mercy ofinternational oil producers andrefiners. It will mean that pricesof petroleum products could begoing up constantly, asfrequently as once every week.

The NDA has been doggedlyopposing the Government'sinsensitive economic policiesand its abysmal failure to controlprices. Both inside and outsideParliament, we have repeatedlydemanded reversal or at least areduction in fuel prices. TheNDA has also pointed out thatprevailing international crudeprices (approximately $ 78 per

barrel) are lower than the peak of$ 150 per barrel reached twoyears ago. When global crudeprices are soft, it defies logic whythe Government of India is hell

bent on burdening peoplerepeatedly by hiking retail prices.

We can come to only oneconclusion: Either the highly-reputed economic "wizards" inthe Government, such as PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh andPlanning Commission DeputyChairman Montek SinghAhluwalia, are nowhere ascompetent as claimed by theCongress Party, or that theGovernment has succumbed oncemore to the pressure of greedyMNCs that control the bulk ofinternational oil trade. Thisconclusion seems inevitable afterrecent revelations exposed themachinations of the Congressleadership in 1984 after theBhopal gas tragedy when the

NDA’s appeal to makeBharat Bandh on July 5

A press statement by NDA was issued 04 July 2010to make Bharat Bandh

July 16-31, 2010 15

July 16-31, 2010 16

BHARAT

July 16-31, 2010 16

July 16-31, 2010 17

T BANDH

July 16-31, 2010 17

July 16-31, 2010 18

then governments in MadhyaPradesh and Delhi connived tolet Union Carbide chief WarrenAnderson off the hook despitethe company's complicity in themass murder of over 15,000innocent people.

The fact is that petrol, whichsells at Rs 53/litre at pumps, hasa basic price of only Rs 16.50.The rest consists of various taxes.Oil Export production and salesare subject to ad-valorem dutiesof customs excise and local stateTaxes. Every increase in oil pricesincreases the revenue burdenalso.The consumer pays both foroil increase and also increase intaxes which amounts to over 50%of the total cost.Clearly, the mainpurpose of imposing higherprices is to increase the profits ofoil companies so that they cancough up higher and higherdividends to the Government. In2008-9, public sector oilcompanies contributed Rs 90,000crore by way of dividends. Withthe latest hike, the dividend isestimated to climb to Rs 120,000crore. Yet, the Government arguesthat high international priceswill result in the loss of Rs 53,000crore to its revenues. Assumingfor a moment that theGovernment is not lying(although how it has reached thefigure of Rs 53,000 crore is quitebaffling), it still stands to make ahuge profit by the increased fuelprices.

Do we elect a Government tomake profits at our expense? Ordo we choose a Government inthe hope that it will cushion usfrom the impact of global pricefluctuations and provideeconomic security? TheGovernment, which claims itsfirst priority is the poor, obviouslyhas no idea what poverty means.

Merely paying some high-profilevisits to thatched huts of poorfamilies to offer lip sympathy isno substitute for policies that willgenuinely alleviate poverty. If ourMinisters climbed down fromtheir ivory towers andcondescended to interact withany poor or lower middle classfamily they would come to knowhow the Government's anti-poorpolicies have ruined them.

Go and ask a housewife howshe manages to feed her familywhen dal costs Rs 90/kg, wheatRs 22/kg, sugar Rs 30 andvegetables are unaffordable formost. The poor man's standardfood - the ordinary dal - keptgetting diluted with water at thehands of distraught housewivesas prices soared uncontrollably.Now, with LPG cylinders costingaround Rs 420 and keroseneprices hiked massively, how doesan average family even afford tocook or light a lantern in its darkhome?

It is well known that anincrease in petroleum productprices has a multiplier effect onothers. Transporters are first tohike their rates and pass on theburden to consumers. Auto-rickshaw and taxi fares are beingincreased by big amounts all overthe country already. While thepoor are cutting back further onfood consumption, middle classpeople find their life's savingsvanish into thin air.

The NDA asserts that it willnot tolerate this premeditatedconspiracy against the people ofIndia by an insensitiveGovernment and Congress Party.We are heartened to find thatcutting across ideologies,opposition parties have cometogether to forcefully register theirprotest and demand roll back of

the recent hikes. Evenfunctionaries of the ruling partyhave publicly expressed theiranger while several allies of theCongress are also up in arms. TheCongress stands isolated and itshighly advertised commitment tothe aam aadmi stands totallyexposed.

As the first step in mobilizingpublic opinion against aGovernment that is blind anddeaf to the concerns of the poor,the NDA has called for a BharatBandh on Monday, July 5. Thiswill be followed by a series ofagitations and the issue will beraised powerfully in theforthcoming Monsoon Session ofParliament. We will not allow theGovernment to ride roughshodover the people of India. It is ashame 63 years afterIndependence the number offamilies living below the povertyline (BPL) is going up each year.The latest burden imposed on thepeople can only add to thesenumbers.

As the principal oppositionalliance, NDA appeals to thepeople to rally around itsdetermined effort to force theGovernment to roll back the anti-people hike in petroleum productprices. We appeal to otherpolitical parties, workers',farmers', women's, students'organizations, NGOs andeverybody else to come togetherto make Monday's Bharat Bandha resounding success so that ourKumbhkarna-like Government iscompelled to wake up in the faceof people's wrath. If theGovernment admits its inabilityto roll back prices and controlinflation, it has no business tocling on to power. This is themessage that will go out fromtomorrow's Bharat Bandh.

July 16-31, 2010 18

July 16-31, 2010 19

The ruling BJP had prepared for the bandh sinceJuly 04 with its volunteers taking the roundsnotifying the people toobserve the shutdown.

State BJP presidentShri RC Faldu toldmedia persons in theevening that thesuccessful bandh waspeople’s protest againstthe price rise and UPA’smove to destabilise ShriNarendra Modiadministration bymisusing the CBI.

A grand success in Himachal PradeshLife was thrown out of gear in Himachal

Pradesh following the bandh call given by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to protestagainst fuel price hike and galloping inflation. InHimachal Pradesh, the response to the anti-inflation agitation was felt statewide. Shops andmarkets were closed; train, air and bus serviceswere disrupted. However, no incident of violencewas reported from the region.

Normal life was paralysed in the State capitalShimla and some other places as bandh calls givenby the BJP evoked good and spontaneous responsein most part of the city.

Vehicular traffic was disrupted in Shimlaregion with private buses off the road and HRTC

not plying its buses on severalroutes for fear being attacked bymobs. The major highways wore adeserted look.

The shops and other businessestablishments were closed in mostof the towns like Solan, Nahan,Paonta Sahib, Bilaspur, Mandi,Dharamsala, Hamirpur,Sundernagar, Kullu and Chambaregion.

To display his solidarity withthe sentiments of the people againstthe rising prices and petroleum

produce prices hike, Chief Minister Prof. PremKumar Dhumal did not use any official vehicleand walked down to the Secretariat on foot.

Shutdown total inPunjab & Haryana

In Punjab, the response was immensely feltState-wide with roads in Ludhiana, Jalandhar,Amritsar, Bhatinda, Sangrur and Pathankotwearing a deserted look on July 05.

The bandh call given by the NDA has receivedwide-spread support from all the oppositionparties, which had joined the agitation to protest

Nitin Gadkari demands reply from ‘economist’ PMIntensifying the attack against the Manmohan Singh Government over

spiralling prices, BJP National President Shri Nitin Gadkari asked the“economist” Prime Minister why he failed to check inflation despite severalpromises during the last two years. BJP National President also asked NACchairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi toexplain the Prime Minister’s failure. “Sonia should tell why an economist PMhas failed to control the price rise? The country wants to know why she andRahul are silent on the issue,” BJP National President Shri Nitin Gadkari toldreporters on July 02.

Referring to the PM claim last year that prices would come down in 100days, Shri Gadkari asked the Government if it was aware that while food item index was showinga downward trend, the prices of essential commodities were increasing. “What effective and concretesteps have been taken by the UPA Government to bring down the prices?” Shri Gadkari asked thePM.

Rejecting the argument that fuel price hike was unavoidable as oil companies were bleeding,Shri Gadkari asked the Government whether the PM was unable to feel the plight of the commonpeople and can only see the dire state of oil companies?

July 16-31, 2010 20

against the Centre’s recent fuel price hike alongwith that of cooking gas and kerosene.

The protesters claimed that the hike in fuelprices would have a sharp cascading effect on thefood inflation, which has been maintaining anupward trend for long now.

In Amritsar, the bandh was almost completeand peaceful. No business establishment,including all luxurious malls, eating joints, hotels,cinema halls carried out their routine activities.Even rail and bus service were paralyzed, thoughno untoward incident was reported.

Excited over the bandh response in Punjab,Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sukhbir Singh Badalsaid that the people were extremely agitated overthe way the Congress led UPA government wasdealing with the issue of inflation.

In Haryana too, the impact of bandh wasimmense. “It was a complete bandh. People are fedup with the Congress led UPA government at thecentre,” said NDA leaders.

In Karnal, the main markets, Karan Gatemarket, Gud Mandi, Sarafa Bazar, Nehru Palaceand Kunjpura Road Market remained closed. Sowas the response in Hisar, where shops and themarkets remained closed.

Bandh cripples life in ChandigarhIn Chandigarh, the city BJP workers blocked

the key Madhya Marg at various points, disruptingthe normal traffic flow. They also jammed otherimportant thoroughfares, leading to trafficdisruptions. The response was effective in majorityof the areas and shops and markets were seenwith shutters down.

Later interacting with media persons Presidentof Chandigarh unit of the BJP Shri Sanjay Tandonsaid, “The Nationwide bandh against price rise

was a great success. The people have showed theirangst against the Central Government. TheCongress led UPA government must withdrawfuel price hike and deflate inflation immediately.”

Markets, offices closed inAssam & N-E States

State BJP president and senior party leaderscourted arrest across Assam, while enforcing acountry-wide bandh called by the BJP led oppositionin protest against the fuel price hike. The 12-hourshutdown was total in Congress-ruled Assam andLeft-ruled Tripura, while other Northeastern Stateswere impacted partially by the bandh call.

In Assam, rail and road traffic came to agrinding halt, as the transport services were badlyhit by protests. Markets, commercial offices, banks,financial and educational institutions remainedclosed, while Government offices recorded thinattendance.

Gadkari appoints chief ofAntyodaya Yojana and Coordinator

of all Morchas and CellsBharatiya Janata Party's National President,

Shri Nitin Gadkari has appointed Shri ManoharLal as the Chief of ANTYODAYA YOJANA. Earlier,Shri Manohar Lal was Regional OrganisationSecretary of Punjab, Chandigarh, HimachalPradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

He has also appointed Shri Mahendra Kumaras the Coordinator of all Morchas and Cells of theparty. Earlier Shri Mahendra Kumar was assignedthe responsibility of the state organisation secretaryof Himachal Pradesh. (FOC)

July 16-31, 2010 21

Gadkari writes to PM to redress grievances ofEx-servicemen without rank discrimination

Tuesday, 06 July 2010 Dear Dr. Singh,

Subject : Redress of grievances OF EX-SERVICEMEN Without rank discrimination.The Ex Servicemen stand very high in esteem of our countrymen. On account of their gallant services, they

undoubtedly are special. They are a category of retired people WITH DIFFERENCE. If Article 14 of ourConstitution were to be invoked for a worthy ‘reasonable classification’ there can’t be any better cause thanthat of the Ex Servicemen. They do deserve a preferential treatment.

The UPA Government has, for reasons inexplicable, failed to pay any serious attention to their genuinegrievances. As President of a NATIONALIST political party, I find it as my duty to remind you, in your capacityas the Prime Minister of India to help shed the apathy and indifference of your Government towards theproblems of our ex servicemen.

It would be appropriate here to recall that our nation had suffered a great political, territorial, material andhuman loss when Chinese attacked our borders in 1962. The raison detre for that defeat was no other thanthe apathy of that day’s government and the then TOP POLITICAL LEADERSHIP towards the defence matterswhich had greatly lowered the MORALE of the fighting men.

As not to face a 1962 like situation again (by neglecting our armed forces), I am reminding you to addressthe problems of the ex servicemen, WITHOUT ANY DISCRIMINATION AND DIVIDE OF RANKS, in rightearnest and resolve it.

Genuine and justified demands of the Ex Servicemen are given in the succeeding Paragraphs.i) One Rank and One Pension (OROP)

Despite promises and various statements made by the Government in and outside the Parliament thisproblem still remains to be resolved in its essential elements. Disparities in pensions of the ex servicemen, dueto their date and year of retirement, exist even today. Sixth Pay Commission, in this has done little in this regard.ii) Supreme Court Judgement of 08 Mar 2010 on Rank Pay

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on 08 Mar 2010 gave a judgement,in the context of the FOURTH PAYCOMMISSION’S AWARDS, that the rank pay to the armed forces personnel was to be given in addition tothe revised pay scales. The implementation of this award was missed out due to the misinterpretation of theFourth Pay Commission’s recommendations by the Government. However, when the Supreme judgement camefor putting this anomaly right, the Government instead of obeying the Supreme Court orders gracefully havefiled an application in the Supreme Court to “rehear the case and modify the order” This, to say the least, istantamount to a grossly hostile Government attitude towards the Ex Servicemen. It is Government’s MORALduty to withdraw this application and implement the Supreme Court Judgement.iii) Service Span of Defence Forces Personnel

Presently Defence Forces Personnel, particularly personnel below officers Rank (PBOR) retire very early.This puts them to great hardships, at a time when their family responsibilities are increasing due to the needsof their growing children. Appropriate LATERAL INDUCTION to other security services, of the defencepersonnel, can solve this problem and enable the defence forces personnel to serve for 60 years.iv) Setting up of a Statutory Commission For Ex Service Men

This is a genuine organisational requirement to take care of the welfare of Veterans. A separate PAYCOMMISSION FOR THE DEFENCE FORCES personnel will solve many anomalies, which the successive tenyearly PAY COMMISSIONS have handed down to the defence forces personnel.

In view of the fore going, I request you to look into the matter and redress the grievances of the VETERANSat the earliest. Let this discontentment be removed lest it creeps into the serving soldiers and lowers theirMORALE too.

With regards,Yours

(Nitin Gadkari)

July 16-31, 2010 22

Anurag Thakur takes over as BJYM president

"Service, Struggle andSacrifice" to be hallmark of

BJYM : Anurag Thakur

The newly-appointed national President ofthe Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)Shri Anurag Thakur, Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur

in Himachal Pradesh assumed office at the BJP nationalheadquarters on June 28. Thousands of karyakartas whothronged from different parts of the country felicitated himon the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Thakur said that thisonerous and important responsibility has been bestowed

on him by the Partyand promised thathe and his teamwill work with fulldedication toensure that he isable to come up tothe expectations ofthe leadership andthe youth to justify

the confidence reposed in him by the Central leadership.Referring to the conscious efforts being made by

Bharatiya Janata Party to ensure maximum participationof youth in nation building, Shri Thakur said that it is amatter of concern that today the parents want their childrento become doctors, engineers, officers etc. but do notencourage them to join politics. Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha will work to remove this negative impression andwill endeavor to promote a social service oriented polityin the country and will provide more and moreopportunities to the youth to make constructivecontribution in the political arena.

In order to achieve this objective, Shri Thakur coineda new inspiring slogan "Service, Struggle and Sacrifice" tobe BJYM's hallmark to inspire the youth to join the politicalmainstream and to create avenues for them to makeconstructive contribution

In this function, BJP National General Secretary(Organization) Shri Ram Lal, National General SecretariesShri Ananth Kumar, Shri J.P. Nadda, and Shri Ravi ShankarPrasad, National Secretary Shri Navjot Singh Siddhu MPand the former President of BJYM, Shri Amit Thakar werepresent and addressed the karyakartas. (FOC)

Smriti Irani assumes charge asBJP Mahila Morcha President

Getting WomenReservation Bill passed

a priority : SmritiThe newly-appointed BJP Mahila

Morcha national president Smt. Smriti Iraniofficially assumed charge on June 24 as

the Bharatiya Janata Party Mahila MorchaPresident at an event presided over by partypresident Shri Nitin Gadkari.

“We will aim for the passage of thewomen’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabhaunder the guidance of our senior leaderSushmaji,” Irani said. The bill has alreadybeen passed by the Rajya Sabha.

Smt. Irani, who took over from Smt.Kiran Maheshwari, outlined her strategyof giving special attention to Sampark(contact), Samwad (conversation),Samrakshana (protection), Sangharsh (fight)and Sanghathan (organisation) to progress.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Gadkarisaid that with Smt. Irani as the MahilaMorcha’s new President, the party wouldstrive to attain 10 percent more share fromthe women voters.

“We need to expand our work forwomen’s rights to add more strength tothe party and I am sure in 2014, the partywill get support from more women voters,”he said. Congratulating Smt. Irani, Leaderof Opposition in the Lok Sabha Smt.Sushma Swaraj said: “We were happy tohear her name as the President of MahilaMorcha.” (FOC)

July 16-31, 2010 23

Madhya Pradesh BJP’stwo-day Stateexecutive meeting was

held on June 30 and July 1 inRatlam (Madhya Pradesh). Inthe meeting, several issues likerising inflation due to fuel pricehike and Bhopal gas disaster inthe wake of the court verdict etcwere discussed.

Besides inflation and Bhopalgas disaster, political situationin Madhya Pradesh wasdiscussed. It was the first stateexecutive meeting, which washeld after the new State BJPPresident Shri Prabhat Jha tookcharge of the office.

The meeting started with BJPNational General Secretary ShriAnant Kumar delivering theinaugural address. In hisinaugural address, hedemanded the CentralGovernment to check the priceor leave the chair. “Troika of PMManmohan Singh, FinanceMinister Shri Pranab Mookerjee,and Agriculture Minister SharadPawar led the country toeconomic crisis,” he added.

Later, a proposal onproviding maximum relief to theBhopal gas victims wasdiscussed by the BJP leaders.They also debated the legalissues surrounding the tragedy,especially extradition of thenUnion Carbide ChairmanWarren Anderson.

The executive committee ofthe state also passed a resolutionblaming the former IndiraGandhi-led government at theCentre for taking the “whimsical

decision” to permit UnionCarbide India Limited to set upthe hazardous methyl iso yanate-based pesticide plant on October31, 1975. “This was done at atime, when Emergency had beenimposed and people were livingunder terror,” the resolutionsaid.

Tonnes of poisonous gashad leaked from the Carbidefactory inBhopal leadingto the worsti n d u s t r i a lcatastrophe, theBJP resolutionsays. Throughthis resolution,the BJP paidhomage tothose who losttheir lives inthis tragedy.

The issueof price rise figured prominentlyin the meeting.

Chief Minister Shri ShivrajSingh Chouhan gave detailsabout work being carried outunder the ‘Antyodaya’programme (a food securityscheme targeted at the poor).

On the occasion ShriChauhan said, “We succeededin implementing 50% promisesof the election manifesto.” “Alot of such Yojanas, which werenot in the manifesto, has alsobeen implemented by ourgovernment in the state”, headded. He said,” We haveformed government in the statefor the second time under thepresident ship of Shri Narendra

Singh Tomar. Now, under theleadership of Shri Prabhat Jhawe will touch new heights ofdevelopment and will formgovernment for the third time inthe state.”

Presiding over the newlyconstituted executive meeting,Madhya Pradesh BJP PresidentShri Prabhat Jha said, “Inpolitics we work with simplicity,

purity and ideologically. ShriJha said, Karyakarta should bestrict from outside and soft frominside like coconut. Image cannot be created through postersand hoardings. Image has to becreated in the hearts of people.We celebrate our birthday byhanging big hoardings andposters. This type of celebrationis not meaningful. We can onlycelebrate meaningful birthdayalong with those persons whohave not got affection of fatherand mother.” He said thatcollectiveness, coordination andunity are our capital.

Addressing concludingsession of the meeting in RatlamBJP President Nitin Gadkari

MP BJP Executive Meeting

UPA acting as a puppet in US hands : GadkariFrom Our Correspondent

July 16-31, 2010 24

held the wrong economicpolicies of the UPA Governmentresponsible for the price rise.“The recent hike has come as anadditional burden to aam aadmi,who have already been reelingunder the burden ofskyrocketing prices. TheGovernment must rollback thehike,” Shri Gadkari said. Healleged that the Congress-ledUnited Progressive Alliance(UPA) regime at the Centre hadbeen misusing the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI) forpolitical purposes which hadput a question mark on the roleof the premier investigationagency.

Shri Gadkari said, “Therewas a time when the CBI’sservices were sought in case ofgrave happenings in thecountry. However, the way theCongress has been misusing theinvestigative agency havingselfish interests, its role has comeunder suspicion.” Shri Gadkarisaid that it wasnow difficult to saywhether the CBIwas an impartialagency. He saidthat the CBI hadworked under thedirections of theruling party at theCentre whileinvestigating theBofors kickbackscandal, Anti-Sikhriots in 1984 andother incidents.

“The CBI isbeing used mostlyagainst the GujaratG o v e r n m e n t .Those persons whoare accused oftreason arepatriotic police

officers implicated in encountercases while in Uttar Pradesh andother regions where more than350 encounters have taken place,no investigations were held insuch cases,” Shri Gadkari said.He said that the BJP wouldlaunch an agitation with the helpof the general public againstmisuse of the CBI by the Centre.Shri Gadkari accused the CentralGovernment of acting as apuppet of the United States.Particularly on issues likeBhopal gas tragedy and thenuclear deal, the Centre isfunctioning under US pressure,he added.

He lauded theannouncement of One-memberEnquiry Commission by ChiefMinister Shri Shivraj SinghChouhan to look into all aspectsof the gas tragedy. He urged ShriChouhan to decide the time frameof the Commission so that thevictims could get justice soon. He

stated that during the gastragedy, the role of then Centraland State Governments wasdoubtful.

Over one lakh victims’claims were not accepted, 20 percent people could not get reliefand the children facing after-effects of the gas were notconsidered as gas-affected,besides, out of court settlementwith the UCIL of $ 470 millionwere the questions which put theCongress’ role under scanner, headded. He alleged that it was theresponsibility of Arjun Singh tocome out with truth before thepeople.

During the meeting acondolence motion was movedwhich paid homage to formerVice President Shri BhaironSingh Shekhawat ,Shri Nana jiDeshmukh and otherKaryakartas , leaders of BJP andJan Sangh and soldiers wholost their life in Naxal violence.

Courtesy : Mail Today

July 16-31, 2010 25

These days there is a lot ofdiscussion about theRangnath Mishra

Commission Report. Recently,this report was tabled in boththe Houses of the IndianParliament whereby it wasproposed that the Dalitsconverted to Christian andMuslim communities be givenreservation on the basis ofScheduled Castes. As those whoare aware know that in thebeginning the object of theCommission was to identify andinform the Government aboutthe plight of the Socially andEconomically BackwardLinguistic and ReligiousMinorities and to suggestmeasures to improve theirplight in accordance with theexisting Legal andConstitutional measures inforce. The Rangnath MishraCommission was constituted bythe Government of India on 29th

October 2004, but after fivemonths, the Government of Indiaadded the Terms of Reference ofthe Commission citing thePresidential Order of 1950 so asto empower the Commission tolook into the following question:Whether the Dalits who hadconverted to Islam andChristianity be accorded thestatus of Scheduled Castes? Thesaid question became the mainagenda of the Commission.

In our country, the benefitsof reservations are only providedfor the Scheduled Castes,

Scheduled Tribes, BackwardClasses and weaker sections.The genesis of the present“reservation” for ScheduleCastes arises as a result of thefamous Pune Pact betweenMahatma Gandhi andBabasaheb Ambedkar .Interestingly in the Governmentof India Act , 1935 the definitionof schedule castes clearlyexcluded Indian Christians anddefined them separately as anindependent group. TheConstitution thereafter provided

reservation to the ScheduleCastes, in legislatures,government services, educationand social welfare schemes aspart of the affirmative action ofthe state.

What is overlooked is thatChristian and Muslim convertsalready enjoy the benefit ofreservation under the categoryof Other Backward Classes aswell the special rights accordedto Religious Minorities under theConstitution . This question wasraised before the MandalCommission , which bypassedthe question on the ground thatcaste was a part of Hindureligion and since the

classification of “other backwardclasses” was not only” castebased , such converts could beincluded in the OBC list , whichthey were and which theycontinue to remain till this date.

The Ranganath Commissionhas proposed that the status ofScheduled Tribes be given to allminority Communities living inscheduled tribe areas prior to1947 without taking intoconsideration their ethniccharacter. This proposal of theCommission which has been

given without considering thesocial, cultural and economicbackground as well asaspirations of the country’s 9crore scheduled tribals isclearly unconstitutional. Whatthe Commission disregards isthat for the inclusion of anycommunity in the list of

Scheduled Tribes, there is a setprocedure which needs to beadhered to. This proposal of theCommission conveniently side-steps this procedure. When thequestion of determination ofScheduled Tribes was not withinthe ambit of the Terms ofReference of the Commission, itclearly exposes the apparent andhidden intentions and objectivesof Commission to encourage thecreation of minority votingblocks for the presentGovernment.

There were little expectationsfrom the Commission, What wasexpected was that at least theCommission would follow the

Rangnath Mishra Commission report isagainst National Interest

By Bhupender Yadav

This behaviour of theCommission shows that

instead of highlighting theplight of religious minorities,

it is more interested in thevote-bank politics.

July 16-31, 2010 26

law and have a procedure whichwould at least seem fair to allgroups who could fall within itsambit. However thisCommission has neither heldconsultations with the minorityHindu Community in Jammuand Kashmir nor heldconsultations with the minoritygroups in the various North-eastern states. This Commissionhas not even bothered to take thepain of consulting any Sikhreligious Institution or any Sikhreligious leader. This behaviourof the Commission shows that

instead of highlighting the plightof religious minorities, it is moreinterested in the vote-bankpolitics. Moreso since any onewith even a small idea ofconstitutional law knows thatclassification of religiousminorities is state based.

Interestingly the data of thisCommission have been obtainedfrom a Delhi-based N.G.O. by thename of Center for ResearchPlanning and Action. Thisparticular N.G.O. has onlysurveyed 5 States out of a total of28 States. The States surveyed bythis N.G.O. are Maharashtra,Punjab, Tamil Nadu, UttarPradesh and West Bengal. It isstunning that such hugeconclusions are drawn andrecommendations made whichif implemented would impact thefuture of India for a long time tocome, based on a rudimentaryand incomplete survey, even by

the admission of the NGOconducting the said survey.

The Commission in its highhandedness and in its hurryfailed to hold any deliberationwith the Political Parties nor hasit sought the opinion of thevarious Constitutional Bodiessuch as the Scheduled CasteCommission, Backward ClassesCommission, Women’sCommission, etc.

The Report discloses that amajority of the States do notsupport the proposal of theCommission for the inclusion of

Dalits, Christians and Muslimswithin the ambit of ScheduledCastes. The Commission hassought the views of the variousStates regarding this questionand a majority of these Stateshave expressed their viewsagainst this proposal. Theinteresting thing to note is thateven States where Christians andMuslims are in majority have notgiven their whole-heartedsupport to this proposal of theCommission. The attempt of theCommission to recommend theinclusion of convertedChristians and Muslims underthe category of Scheduled Castestherefore clearly is in teeth ofopinion of most of the people andgroups that it consulted. Theattempt therefore to air brush thisopposition is even moresurprising.

In our country to curb themenace of Untouchability and

improve the plight of theScheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes, the Parliamenthas enacted The Protection ofCivil Rights Act, 1955 andScheduled Castes and theScheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act, 1989. TheCommission in its report hasacknowledged that under TheProtection of Civil Rights Act,1955, every citizen is entitled toLegal protection against thescourge of Untouchability. TheCommission has acknowledgedthat in the report of the Ministryof Social Welfare, complaintsagainst Untouchability relatedoffences are on the decline underthe Protection of Civil Rights Act.When apparently complaintsagainst untouchability are notrelated to these minority groups,then what is the "logic" behindthe proposal of this Commissionto include these minority groupswithin the ambit of ScheduledCastes? There is not a single casewhich has been illustrated bythis Commission to prove thatthe members of the Muslim andChristian Communities arebeing subjected toUntouchability as is the casewith Scheduled Castes. Thenwhy should these minoritygroups be accorded the status ofScheduled Castes?

The statistics beingillustrated by this Commissionshow that the condition of theScheduled Castes and Tribes aremuch worse in comparison toreligious Minorities. A cursorylook at the statistics quoted bythe Commission shows that evenin Primary Education, Muslimsfare much better as compared tothe Scheduled Castes. In case ofnutritional levels, drinkingwater, literacy, the state of

Interestingly the data of this Commission have beenobtained from a Delhi-based N.G.O. by the name of Centerfor Research Planning and Action. This particular N.G.O.has only surveyed 5 States out of a total of 28 States. TheStates surveyed by this N.G.O. are Maharashtra, Punjab,Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

July 16-31, 2010 27

Scheduled Castes is much worse than that ofreligious minorities. The moot question whichthen arises in the present case is that when theCommission itself believes in these statistics thenwhat is the need for the inclusion of converts inthe list of Scheduled Castes?

The most rational part of the entire report isthe dissent of its Member Secretary, Asha Daswho raises a question which the Commissionavoids in ever addressing that is “If religionswhich in terms of their religious tenets do notrecognize caste, how can the state impose thecaste system on them, and, if the state does so,would it not be a violation of the Secularismwhich is part of the basic structure of theConstitution. The other question raised by theMember Secretary regarding the incongruity infixing a cut off date for recognition of religiousminorities and thereby creating classification ofreligious minorities based on dates ofconversion has also not been addressed by theCommission, which was apparently workingwith a single point agenda to create vote banksfor the ruling party . The Commission fails torecognize that in case there is discriminationwithin the Christian religion based on socialhierarchy then it is the obligation of the leadersof the faith to alleviate such problems.

It is sad that the persons for whom thereservations are directed, the Scheduled Castes,themselves, and whose feelings are clearlyagainst reduction of their entitlement byinclusion of religious minorities are neitherheard nor consulted in the entire processwhereby their representation and empowermentis going to be reduced. This clearly shows thatinspite of the purported love for Dalits that thisGovernment professes it has no actual intentionof consulting them on important decisions abouttheir future.

It is therefore time for us as all rational andconscientious citizens of the country to comeforward and raise our voices jointly against theclear attempted subversion of our Constitutionalideals by vested political interests, whose onlyagenda is the creation of voting blocks toperpetuate their rule. If we do not, then ourfuture generations will not forgive us.

(The writer is BJP National Secretary and anAdvocate of the Supreme Court.)

Defending the CRPFagainst criticism over its role inJ&K, the BJP spokesperson ShriShahnawaz Hussain MP onJune 30 lambasted on theManmohan Singh Governmentfor lacking in “political will andclear policy” to deal with thevolatile situation in the State.

Maintaining that anorchestrated campaign was being launched in J&Kto deliberately discredit the CRPF and other securityagencies, he claimed the ongoing agitation and anorganised attempt to spread it to more areas waspart of a systematic attempt to disrupt and derailAmarnath Yatra.

“It has been seen that some disruptive elementsresort to violent agitation on one pretext or the otheron the eve of Amarnath Yatra every year to ensurethat the Yatra does not proceed smoothly.

Determined attempts are being made to denyeven basic facilities and amenities to devoteesundertaking a pilgrimage to Amarnath shrine,” BJPspokesman Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters.

He appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure thesafety and security of pilgrims going for AmarnathYatra by taking all precautionary measures to avertany attempt to disrupt the peaceful conduct of theYatra.

Expressing concern over the tense situation inthe Valley, the former Union Minister maintainedprojecting the security forces in a poor light shouldbe seen as part of the game plan to seek reductionin Army presence and dilution of the Armed ForcesSpecial Powers Act.

“Security forces have been given rifles but donot have the authority even to use it in self-defence.We would ask the Centre to give them full supportand authority to deal with the troublemakers in theState,” Shri Hussain added.

“By continuing the agitation, the antinationalelements and their mentors are keen to project thatthe situation in the State is far from normal and thatthe presence of security forces is a major stumblingblock in normalisation of situation,” he said.

Cong has no clear policyon Kashmir : Shahnawaz

From Our Correspondent

July 16-31, 2010 28

Former BJP NationalPresident Shri RajnathSingh has lambasted the

ruling BJD government in Odishafor its failure to provide relief tothe distressed farmers. Theprogress of the state largelydepends on the economicprosperity of the farmers. Iffarmers are committing suicidedespite the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme,it clearly demonstrate means thatthe public distribution systemhas collapsed. The subsidisedrice is not reaching the targetedpeople, Shri Rajnath Singh tolda media conference inBhubaneswar on July 01.

While farmers’ suicide casesare reported from several states,not a single case is reported fromChhattisgarh where Rs 1-kg-ricehas done wonders. The PDSdelivery mechanism is workingperfectly there. Not onlyChhattisgarh but all the BJP andNDA-ruled states are

performing better than theCongress-ruled states, heclaimed. He criticised the UPAGovernment for its failure to passthe food security bill. While foodgrains areg e t t i n grotten in FCIg o d o w n s ,the Centrehas notbeen able tokeep itspromise toprovide riceand wheat at Rs 3-a-kg to thepeople, he added.

Addressing a meetingorganised by the the State BJP toprotest against the price risebefore his departure for Delhi,Shri Singh said farmers suicideis the major failure of NaveenPatnaik led BJD government. Headvised the Government to takeall possible measures to save thefarmers from the brink of

BJD Government lets down farmers : Rajnath Singhbankruptcy, failing which thepeople will not forgive hisgovernment.

Launching a scathing attackon the UPA Government, Shri

Rajnath Singh said wheneverCongress came to power it madethe life of the people miserable.Now the people are noticing thedifferences between the NDAand UPA governments.

The meeting was presidedby state unit president Shri JualOram and also addressed by BJPsenior leader and former ministerShri BB Harichandan, formerstate president Shri Suresh Pujariand Shri Amiya Das. (FOC)

Reported revelation in Ishrat case exposes UPADavid Headley in his interrogation before the National Investigative Agency

(NIA) has admitted that Ishrat Jahan, who was allegedly killed in an encounterin Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004 to be a Lashkar-e-Taiyabba (LET) activist. Thisimportant disclosure, appearing in the national media, makes it incumbent onthe central government to admit or deny the existence of this position. Speakingon the issue BJP Spokes Person and General Secretary Shri Ravishankar Prasadsaid "The conduct of the union government in the matter of the encounterrelating to Ishrat Jahan has been scandalous. " A few days after the killing ofIshrat Jahan, the official website of the Jamaat ud Dawah, the parent body ofLET, claimed that Ishrat was a close associate of the outfit who laid down her

life for the cause of Jihadi activity" he added. Shri Prasad said that now it was revealed, as reported inmedia, in interrogation of David Headley before NIA.

He alleged the UPA government had been discrediting the Gujarat Police all along on the issue."Now, it is incumbent on the Centre to confirm or deny whether Headley has informed the NationalInvestigation Agency that Ishrat was a LeT operative," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He said, while the Central government first admitted before the Gujarat High Court that Jahan hadclose links with LeT, it later suggested before the Supreme Court that intelligence inputs did notconstitute proof or evidence. (FOC)

July 16-31, 2010 29

BJP’s National President,Shri Nitin Gadkari haslaunched “Jeevan Sankalp

Yojana” – a Special moneycollection scheme in the partyheadquarter in New Delhi onJune 30 under Aajeevan SahyoghNidhi Abhiyan. Shri Gadkarihanded over the cheque of Rs. 1lakh and a Sankalp Patra to ShriMangeram Garg, In charge ofAajeevan Sahyogh Nidhi andaccepted first membership ofJeevan Sankalp Yojana.

Active members, supporters,friends and well-wishers of BJPcan participate generously tocontribute to its coffer so thatdaily expenses of the differentunits of the party could be metwithout difficulty.

The scheme would accept acontribution of a minimum Rs 1lakh and the party has set theinitial target of making 15,000such enrolments in the scheme.The money raised would be keptas fixed deposit in a nationalizedbank and the interest moneyaccumulated every year from thisdeposit would be distributedamong Mandals, Districts, Stateoffices and the central office toenable them do their day-to-dayworking.

Launching this uniquescheme Shri Gadkari observedthat if the party is to succeed itneeds reliable money poweralong with reliable manpower.According to him VisheshSahyogh Nidhi Abhiyan is thepart of Aajeevan Sahyogh Nidhi

Abhiyan under which moneywould be collected withtransparency to bring probityinto politics. A contribution of

Rs. 1lac can be made under thisscheme. The party would keepthis money as fix deposit in anationalised bank. The interestmoney accrued every year fromthis deposit would be distributedamong Mandals, Districts, Statesoffices and the Central offices toenable them do their day-to-dayworking.

This is a simpletransparent and accountablemode of collecting money fororganisational work of theparty

Accordingly, the BJP wishesthat all sections of the societyshould contribute toorganisational strength of theparty and party’s daily workingshould be done with economicco-operation of all sections of thesociety. He added that the BJP iscommitted to probitytransparency and accountabilityin public life. The party appeals

to all its active members,supporters, friends and well-wishers to extend their co-operation to the BJP, so that

probity in politics and BJP’sendeavor to practice cleanpolitics could be strengthened.

The National Incharge of thescheme Shri Mangeram Gargsaid on this occasion that theVishesh Sahyogh Nidhi Abhiyanhas been started and a target ofenrolling 15,000 members hasbeen fixed in the first phaseunder this new scheme. Thestates would achieve this targetby putting in special efforts. Heasserted that BJP’s AajeevanSahyogh Nidhi Sadasyata Abhiyanwould continue as usual.

BJP National GeneralSecretary (Organisation) ShriRamlal, National Vice President,Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,National General Secretary, ShriVijay Goel, Headquarter Incharge, Shri Shyam Jaju andNational Media Convener,Shrikant Sharma were alsopresent on the occasion.

Nitin Gadkari launches“Jeevan Sankalp Yojana”

From Our Correspondent

July 16-31, 2010 30

At a SwabhimanSamavesh in Bangaloreon July 04, BJP National

President Shri Nitin Gadkari,who presided over the Samavesh,came down heavily on theCongress led UPA Governmentand the Ranganath MishraCommission. He termed it a curseand asked the UPA to throw thereport into the dustbin.

The convention wasorganised by Karnataka BJP andapart from BJP nationalpresident Shri Nitin Gadkari,Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, BJPNational General Secretary ShriAnanth Kumar, MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister ShriShivraj Singh Chouhan,Karnataka Chief Minister Shri BSYeddyurappa and host of otherleaders attended the convention.

On the occasion the BJPpresident also warned the UPAthat there would be massiveagitation across the country if itsrecommendations wereimplemented. He told theconvention that the BJP would

not accept the report atany cost, attacking theCongress vote bankpolitics. Shri Gadkarisaid, “The Ranganathreport, if implemented,would cut into thereservation of OBCs.The BJP will oppose itat any cost.”

Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shri Shivraj SinghChouhan also reminded theRanganath panel of thetreatment given to the SacharCommittee report, which hadasked for details of Muslims andChristians working there. SeniorBJP leader and Rajya Sabhamember from Karnataka Shri MVenkaiah Naidu termed thereport as a “curse to thebackward classes” and “worseloss” for them.

Karnataka Chief MinisterShri BS Yeddyurappa alsoannounced that the BJPGovernment in the State wouldearmark Rs 1,000 crore for thedevelopment and welfare of

Ranganath report a curse : BJP

backward classes in next year’sbudget, from Rs 640 crore allottedthis year.

The BJP national presidentappealed to the people to maketomorrow’s Bharat Bandh asuccess to protest against theUPA Government’s “failure tocheck rising prices”.

Meanwhile, the BJP said itwould face the upcomingAssembly elections in Bihar withthe JD(U) and expressedconfidence that the combinewould return to power.

“I want to tell you that inBihar, the BJP and JD(U) willwin,” said Shri Ananth Kumar,in-charge of party affairs inBihar. (FOC)

Swabhiman Samavesh in Bangalore

Jaswant Singh returns to BJP

Former external affairs minister Shri Jaswant Singh returned to the Bharatiya Janata Party on June 23 ten months after his expulsion. Terming it great to be

back, he credited senior party leaders and specifically Shri L.K.Advani for his homecoming. He said, “Its good to be back in a familiar surrounding among familiarfaces.” He said BJP is one of the two poles of national polity and it is imperative to strengthen it.I am committed to doing whatever I can for the national good. Welcoming Singh back to the partyfold, BJP Parliamentary Party Chairman Shri LK Advani said: “It’s a matter of happiness and senseof relief that he is back in the party. I welcome him and I am confident that with his support theparty will be further strengthened.” BJP National President Shri Nitin Gadkari said what hashappened is past and we should live in the present. He appointed Shri Singh as a special inviteeto the party’s national executive and hoped that the party will keep getting his guidance. Leader ofOpposition in Lok Sabha Smt Sushma Swaraj, party deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Shri S.S. Ahluwalia,and BJP Chief Spokesperson Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad were among those present.(FOC)