UPA's wrong policies, bad governance led to price rise: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 21 (UNI) Calling the UPA a synonym of ''high inflation rate'', the BJP today held the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress-led UPA Government the main
reasons for spiralling prices.

The party organised a massive opposition rally at the huge Ramlila Ground here in which more than two lakh people from across the country participated and registered their anguish towards rising prices of essential commodities.

Claimed by the BJP to be the biggest rally organised by any party in the country, the protest saw presence of people from all walks of life, including farmers, workers, labourers andex-servicemen, raising slogans and placards of ''Mehangayi rok do ya gaddi chod do'' (Stop inflation or quit).

The rally resulted in huge traffic jams in many parts of the city. Thousands of policemen were deployed to ensure it passes off smoothly.

Various senior leaders of the party including Nitin Gadkari, Lal Krishna Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Venkaiah Naidu, Anant Kumar, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, addressed the rally.

Party Chief Gadkari said the country's political history proves that whenever there had been Congress-led government, people have suffered the problems of price rise and high inflation rate.

''Although the Congress' slogan claims ''Garibi Hatao'' (remove poverty) the latest data by Planning Commission proves that the number of BPL people has risen to 41 crore. In addition, 75 per cent of this number includes the people from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes about whose welfare the government has given many assurances,'' he said.

He stated that the data obtained from nations all over the world showed that in other countries the inflation has increased by less than two per cent while in India it has crossed 11 per cent. ''It is the wrong economic policies and bad governance of the Congress-led UPA Government at Centre which are responsible for the woes of the common man,'' he said.

BJP protests milk price hike, leaders court arrest

New Delhi, Mar 20 (UNI) Police today used water cannon and mild force to stop hundreds of BJP activists from marching towards Parliament House against the hike in milk and CNG prices in Delhi and courted arrest in huge numbers.

While reiterating their demand to curb the price rise and give some respite to the poor and middle class people, Delhi BJP senior leaders asserted that the government was ''directly responsible'' for the skyrocketing inflation in the Capital.

''Despite getting Rs 28,000 crore package from the Central Government, there is no relief for the common man,'' leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijay Malhotra remarked.

Delhi BJP secretary Veerender Sachdeva stated the Chairman of Mother Dairy was appointed by the Delhi government and it also provided the land at throw away prices. So, the government should ensure that people get its products at lower than market prices.

''It is an attempt to revive the middlemen, who were eliminated with the introduction of such corporations,'' MLA Ramesh Bidhuri alleged.

Addressing the protestors, BJP All India General Secretary Vijay Goel asked the activists to take the issue to each and every street of the Capital and discuss it at every corner to spread awareness among people about their exploitation.

The agitators were led by Delhi BJP President O P Kohli. Former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana was also present.

They asked the activists to be prepared for a huge rally on April 21.

SAD to NHRC: Treat '84 riot victims at par with Godhra

New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) Activists of Delhi unit of Shriomani Akali Dal (Badal) today marched to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) office here and demanded its intervention in the 1984 Riot cases, wherein thousands of Sikhs were massacred.

Asking why NHRC had not treated 1984 Riot victims at par with those of Godhra Riots in, SAD Delhi unit President Manjeet Singh G K said, ''The magnitude of 1984 massacre was much higher than the Gujarat riots.''

''Without any disrespect to Godhra victims, we want to specify that in Gujarat only around 800 people were killed but in 1984 riots more than 2700 Sikhs were butchered by the mob,'' he added.

''Why NHRC, even after 25 years of riots, has not taken any step to uphold the human rights and the rights of the victims,'' Mr Singh questioned.

Reiterating their demand for penal action against Sajjan Kumar and other accused, SAD National General Secretary Avtar Singh Hit said, ''We want to ask why are we being ignored.''

''Until all the accused persons are booked under law and victims not given justice this movement will continue,'' he added.

BJP candidate from Jangpura in 2008 Delhi Assembly Elections Manjinder Singh Sirsa said he has no hope of justice as the Congress, which had orchestrated these riots, was currently
holding power at the Centre.

The SAD had submitted a memorandum before the NHRC on Novemeber 4, 2009 but NHRC had not done anything in this regard, Mr Singh said.

''So, we request the NHRC to intervene in this matter and approach the High Court for appointment of a monitoring committee to monitor these cases,'' he urged.

Left criticises privatisation of PSBs

New Delhi, Dec 3 (UNI) Terming Banking sector reforms a ploy ''to serve the purpose of corporate sector'', CPI National General Secretary D Raja today said privatisation of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) is 'anti-poor'. Thousands of bank employees, wearing red shirts, under the banner of All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) today gathered at Parliament Street here to oppose the government's plan to dilute the government equity capital in the PSBs. Mr Raja said, ''The government should not undermine the importance of Banking sector, which undeniably plays an important role in strengthening the economy of the country.'' The government has planned to reform the Banking sector through privatisation of the PSBs, closure and merger of Associate banks and other PSBs with the SBI and amendment of the Banking Regulation Act to allow full voting rights to foreign investors in the Banking sector. Addressing the agitators, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury assured them that his party would take their voice to Parliament. Criticising the Congress government, he said on one hand they say that nationalisation of banks had helped India to face the challenge of economic slowdown and on the other, they were conspiring to privatise the PSBs. On the issue of taking Rs 10,000 crore (2 billion dollar) loan from the World Bank to capitalise the PSBs, he said, ''We have enough money in our country to do that and taking loan from the World Bank will only put sanctions on us which will hinder our growth.'' Saying that the only PSBs were under poor people's reach, AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam told UNI, ''We want government to adopt people-oriented banking policy rather than corporate oriented.'' ''The government's plan to expand the Banking sector through consolidation and privatisation will not help the poor because big banks only care about big customers hence there won't be any bank left to give loans to the farmers and small traders,'' he added. Replying to a question whether India should have a central bank like other developed nations, Mr Venkatachalam replied, ''There is no need of such a bank but a Central Banking Authority is necessary.'' The representatives of the organisation submitted a memorandum in this regard to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee demanding that there should be no dilution of government equity in the PSBs and no merger of PSBs. Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) president Sanjeeva Reddy said, ''We want government to strengthen the Banking Sector rather than destroy it.'' The merger and privatisation of the PSBs would cut the employment potential of the Banking industry which would have adverse effect on the growth of the country, he added. Mr Venkatachalam said if the government refuses to listen to the demands, they would observe a nationwide bandh on December 16 Links: http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-3732.html http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20091203/1397061.html http://content.usatoday.com/topics/article/Organizations/International+Agencies,+Alliances,+Cartels/World+Bank/02Zse3l4CW5dz/1

Scrap CWG if it deprives people of their livelihood: CPI(ML)

New Delhi, Nov 14 (UNI) The Delhi unit of CPI(ML) today held a demonstration demanding rollback of bus and Metro fares hike.

Addressing the protestors at ITO, CPI(ML) Secretary (Delhi) Sanjay Sharma alleged that the Delhi government is burning a hole in the common man's pocket for meeting the expenses of organising Commonwealth Games.

He also alleged that government has been working as an ''agency'' to guarantee profit to private investors through the taxpayers' money.

''Sheila Dikshit government has reduced DTC into a revenue collecting agency for TATA company. Government is purchasing buses from TATA at a price two to three times higher from actual price,'' Mr Sharma said.

''The same ''corporate appeasement'' policy is being implemented against roadside vendors. Around five lakh vendors will be evicted from Delhi by July next year. If organising CWG means depriving people of their livelihoods than we should scrap the games,'' he told UNI.

CPI(ML) Delhi Office Secretary Govind Uniyal said, ''We condemn the Chief Minister's statement that citizens have to pay for development.''

Farmers, labourers urge PM for food security to all

New Delhi, Nov 26 (UNI) Amid growing concerns about 'hunger deaths'

and Genetically Modified (GM) seeds, hundreds of farmers and

labourers today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure food

security to all the people in the country.

A rally under the banner of Steering Group of the Right of Food
Campaign was organised at Jantar Mantar here to demand legislation
of the Food Entitlements Act (FEA) and immediate attention towards
continuous reduction in food production in the country.

The Right to Food Campaign demands an Act that would deal with at
least some of the causes of hunger and will provide each and every
citizen of this country with food entitlements.

One of the agitators from Bihar Rahul, who is also associated with
an NGO Koshish, told UNI, ''Around 125 people have died of
hunger in Bihar this year but neither the Union nor state government
is interested in providing food to us. We are aggrieved from this
apathetic attitude of the government.''

Sharing his experience of dealing with the administrators, he
said, ''We contacted several officials including District Magistrate
but nobody paid attention to our problems. Corruption is present at
every level of administration.''

Reiterating Rahul's anguish towards the government, Steering Group
convenor Kavita Srivastava said, ''this misappropriation of funds is
not restricted to Bihar only. It is prevailed in all the states of
the country.''

A charter of demands was unanimously adopted and given to the PMO
after the rally. Universalisation of Public Distribution System,
effective grievance redressal system, special measures in disasters
were demanded in the charter besides several other demands, including
enactment of FEA.

If enacted, the FEA entitles each and every adult of 14 kg of
cereals per month along with 1.5 kg of pulses and 800 gm of cooking
oil at affordable prices.

Addressing the agitators, National Federation of Indian Women
(NFIW) national joint secretary Rashpal Kaur alleged that Indian
Government is working under the influence of International Monetary
Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organisation.

''We need to understand the conspiracy of these international
organistations. They are working for Multinational Companies who
only look for their profit,'' Ms Kaur opined.

''We are being advised to use GM seeds to get higher production
but the question is how can poor farmers afford to purchase such
expensive seeds,'' she questioned.

National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) representative
Bhupender Rawat said in spite of increasing the land for
aggriculture, government is allocating agricultural land to the industries and business houses.

Lawyers demand separate bench of HC for West UP

New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) After farmers, it was the turn of lawyers

from Western Uttar Pradesh to register their protest for ignoring

their 40-year-old demand for a separate High Court Bench in the

western region of the state.

Hundreds of lawyers from UP today held a demonstration at
Jantar Mantar asking the Union and UP government to stop passing
the buck and take concrete steps to give respite to lakhs of
people residing in the western UP.

Chairman of High Court Bench Establishment G S Dhama said, ''It
is not just lawyers who are demanding the separate bench, it is the
demand of people.''

He alleged that both the Centre and the state government were
passing the buck and not paying heed to the problems of the people.

People have to travel 800 km to reach Allahabad. The long
distance adds to the already high cost of pursuing a case in High
Court. Poor people cannot afford to pursue their case for a longer
period. So it is a kind of impediment in the way of justice, Mr
Dhama noted.

Former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes went to meet the agitators
and said it was a genuine demand and the Centre government also
considers it but until the state government does not put the demand
on table, nothing can be done.

Around 14 lakh cases were pending in the Allahabad High Court out
of which, around eight lakh were from Western UP and 16 districts
fall in this region.

Something should be done for farmers' welfare: Digvijay

New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) All India Congress Committee (AICC)

general secretary Digvijay Singh today said ''something should be

done for the welfare of farmers.''

He was addressing the farmers from Uttar Pradesh, particularly
from national capital region (NCR), demanding immediate annulment of
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and enactment of Land Acquisition
Amendment Act, 2007, which is pending for a considerable time.

Mr Singh said the UPA government was mulling over this and has
had several discussion with the ministers concerned, but Railway
Minister Mamata Banerjee had objected to some of the provisions.

''We are in talks with Ms Banerjee and will come to some common
ground with her very soon,'' he said.

Rapping the Mayawati government for ignoring farmers, he asserted
that if Haryana government could secure the land of its farmers, why
cannot UP government.

''India is a democratic state and one should have the right to
sell one's property (land) on the price one wants to,'' Mr Singh
said.

Member of Parliament Vasudev Acharya condemned the government for
acquiring the land from farmers on very low prices and re-selling it
to the businessmen and builders on higher prices. ''There is no
rehabilitation policy for the farmers,'' he added.

Zameen Adhigrahan Pratirodh Andolan coordinator Sardaram Bhatti
said land was being acquired on agriculture rates and were sold to
builders on market rate which was ten times higher than the
agriculture rate.

''We demand that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 be annulled
and Land Acquisition Amendment Act, 2007 be enacted with immediate
effect,'' Mr Bhatti said.

Twenty five per cent land should also be returned to the farmers
for residential purposes, he added.

The agitators also handed over a memorandum to Mr Singh urging
him to look into the matter.

Farmers demand fair price for sugarcane

New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) Thousands of sugarcane farmers from Uttar Pradesh today staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar here, decrying the Centre's move to fix the sugarcane prices without coordination with the Sugarcane Committee and Mill owners.

The farmers have been demanding that prices should be fixed after talks with their representatives so that they get a fair price of their produce. The Central government had given a fixed price of Rs 129.85 per quintal for sugarcane for the year 2009-10 crushing season under the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) system.

Thousands of farmers influxed to city from the neighbouring state under the aegis of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) and Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan. However, the leadership looked divided as RLD and BKU were protesting at different places and asking others to join for the bigger good.

Addressing the protestors, RLD supremo Ajit Singh said the prices should be decided in coordination with the Sugarcane Committee and Mill owners. ''We will not accept the unfair prices fixed by the government,'' Mr Singh exhorted.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav said, ''Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar are responsible for the sugarcane crisis,''

Mr Yadav said he would lead a movement of the farmers of the country whose condition, according to him, was the worst in the world.

SP general secretary Amar Singh opined that the UPA government was not bothered about the condition of the farmers and has been importing raw sugar from Brazil on higher prices, but reluctant to give fair price
to the farmers for their produce.

BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said the farmers and are now ready to fight for their rights and have come here for their problems and not for any party.

''The farmers in Haryana are getting Rs 210 per quintal, whereas we are offered only Rs 170. The prices of sugar have doubled as compared to last year, but look at the prices of sugarcane, just Rs 20 have been increased,'' Mr Tikait complained.

BKU has demanded a price of Rs 280 per quintal for the sugarcane, saying its prices should increase in proportion to
that of sugar.

The executive order would affect around 40 lakh farmers in UP alone.

''The government wants to ruin the farmers but we will not act as sitting ducks. We can stop the supply of essential goods, including milk and vegetables, as well as buses and trains. We can also stop the supply of water to Delhi and for all that we need not come to Delhi,'' Mr Singh warned.

UP State Advisory Price (SAP) had been set between Rs 165 and Rs 170 per quintal and the Centre had given a
fixed price of Rs 129.85 per quintal for sugarcane for the year 2009-10 crushing season under the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) system.

In case, a state government fixed SAP higher than the FRP, it would have to pay the difference.

Anganbadi workers demands govt employee status

New Delhi, Nov 24 (UNI) Anganbadi workers from across the country today protested at the Jantar Mantar demanding government employee status and minimum wage be given to them. Anganbadi state president Girish Pandey said minimum wages and government employee status should be given to all the Anganbadi workers. He demanded that until they were not made government employees, they should be given Rs 5,000 as stipend and after getting government employee status, minimum wages should be given. ''They are just getting Rs 1,500 per month which comes around Rs 50 per day, whereas, NAREGA workers get Rs 100 per day for just digging a hole. Our workers are indulged in mental work and their's include only physical work, Mr Pandey told UNI. Around 28 lakh Anganbadi workers in the country are facing this extremely difficult situation and finding it hard to survive with such a low earning, Hind Majdoor Kissan Panchayat Vice-president Vijay Narayan said. Mr Pandey said low wages were also affecting the real aim set out by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as it was quite de-motivating for the workers and they were getting indulged in pilferage. ''Four years ago we met with Ms Sonia Gandhi and had discussed the issues in details. She assured us of appropriate steps in this direction but nothing has been done so far,'' Mr Narayan lamented. The agitators were also demanding retirement benefits and pension facility for the all Anganbadi workers.

Ensure food security for all, universalise PDS: RTF Steering Grp

New Delhi, Nov 24 (UNI) The National Steering Committee for Right to Food Campaign today rejected the Government's plan to enact National Food Security Act (NFSA), which would entitle every Below Poverty Line (BPL) household to a certain amount of monthly ration on subsidised prices.

Committee convener Kavita Srivastava said, ''We demand a much broader based Food Entitlements Act.''

Stating that in the face of spiralling prices, drought and deepening hunger, the effort to entitle each BPL household to a monthly ration of 25 kg of foodgrains at Rs 3 per kg was meaningless, Ms Srivastava said, ''The Act should deal with at least some of the causes of hunger and provide each and every resident of this country with food entitlements.''

Amid the ruckus created by the unverifiable statistics providing different figures for the number of people living below poverty line, economist Jean Dreze emphasised, ''For achieving long-term food security for all, a comprehensive approach including a universal public distribution system is needed so that no one is left behind in contrast with the current targeted approach which is both unreliable and divisive.''

Stating that majority of poor people did not have BPL cards, he said giving subsidised food to some people who did not need it was better rather than leaving needy poor people without food.

National Federation of Women (NFW) general secretary Annie Raja opined that no private player should be allowed in Public Distribution System (PDS).

''The law should allow accessiblity, both economic and social and availability of food to each and every resident of this country,'' Ms Raja said.

''To ensure availabilty of food, the Government should not turn to imports. It should make arrangements to improve food production and Genetically Modified food is a big no-no,'' she opined.

She added that profitable supportive price for farmers' produce should be given along with limiting imports to emergency periods only to boost their confidence.

Pressing for the provision of ration cards to the female head of the house, Ms Raja said it would help in improving the health of the child as well as women.

Rubbishing the Government's reiteration about the unavailability of funds to launch a huge project of ensuring food to all citizens, National Trade Union Initiative vice-president D Tahnkappan said, ''We are of the mind that if there is a political will then funds will not be a problem.'' He questioned the Government on its lax attitude in food provision at a time when it was providing a tax rebate of Rs 4 lakh crore to industries.

Emphasising that food should not be exported till malnutrition was eradicated, National Conference of Dalit Organisation's (NACDOR) national coordinator Ashok Bharti said the residents of the country had the first right on the food produced here.

The National Steering Committee also demanded a greivance redressal mechanism to deal with the complaints and check misappropriations.

They also advocated total overhaul of the PDS.

Employees demand quashing of PSUs disinvestment plans

New Delhi, Nov 25 (UNI) Hundreds of Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees from across the country today assembled at Jantar Mantar here under the banner of Public Sector Employees National Cofederation (PSENC), an industrial unit of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), demanding scrapping of disinvestment and selling out plans of PSUs besides immediate revision of the wages of its employees.

PSENC also demanded revival of the sick PSUs like HMT and NEPA. The protestors submitted a charter of demands to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to give respite to the thousands of PSU employees.

Addressing PSU workers, BJP MP Rudra Narayan Pany criticised the Centre's plans to sell out and disinvest in PSUs and said the Government's policies are not aimed at reducing inequality.

He said around 77 per cent people in the country were living on less than Rs 20 per day and the disinvestment policy will only add to the already high percentage.

It was the Government's duty to reduce such a huge inequality, he underlined.

Pointing towards the Rs four lakh crore bailout package given to the private sector, PSENC President Virjesh told UNI, ''The government is giving Bailout to Private Sector and Sellout to Public Sector.'' ''We cannot figure out the logic for this decision as most PSUs are earning huge profits and have been filling Government's coffers for a very long period,'' he added.

Explaining the disadvantages of disinvestment and selling out of PSUs which would increase exploitation of the employees, concentration of finances in the hands of a few people, Mr Upadhyay opined, ''It is also very critical from the national security point of view as it can provide access to significant information about country's defence plans to the private players.''

Criticising the Government's indifference towards the PSU employees, Mr Upadhyay lamented that despite announcement of Sixth Pay Commission almost a year ago, the employees had not received the revised salary as yet.

''All the Central Government employees have even recieved second installment of their arrears but nothing has been done for the PSU employess,'' he said.

Coal Mine Workers Federation president Surender Kumar Pandey said the disinvestment policy was against the aims of PSUs as outlined by late Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru who said PSUs were the real temples of the country as they would provide employment to the people.