The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) of cheating the people by remaining silent on inflation.
BJP spokesperson George Kurien told reporters here on Friday that Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy should lead his ongoing yatra to Delhi in protest against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's failure to check price rise. The CPI(M), which spearheaded agitations against price rise, has now chosen to remain silent on the issue. He described as a joke the announcement by Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran that the government would invoke the law to check inflation. He said instead of taking immediate steps to check hoarding and black-marketing, the government was trying to resort to other measures. “This will only worsen the crisis.”
Mr. Kurien said the BJP would launch a mass movement against the “anti-people policies” of the government and both fronts and also put forward a development alternative before the people. Party national president Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate the Kerala Raksha Padayatra to be taken out by State president V. Muralidharan from Uppala in Kasaragod on January 16. The slogan of the yatra spanning 41 days is mass upsurge against anti-people fronts. The message of the yatra is to eliminate corruption, terrorism and also ensure equal justice and self-reliance. The yatra will pass through 12 districts, except Wayanad and Idukki. Mr. Muralidharan will participate in similar programmes in the two districts. It will cover 70 Assembly segments, 243 grama panchayats, 32 municipalities and four Corporations.
Mr. Muralidharan will address 350 public meetings in the course of the yatra, which will conclude here on February 26. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitely will address the meeting to mark the conclusion of the yatra here. Party leaders Rajnath Singh, Vasundara Raje Scindia, Ananthkumar, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Mukthar Abbas Naqvi and Smrithi Irani will address the public meetings in different parts of the State.
State general secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan is the yatra vice-captain. Mr. Kurien, Mahila Morcha president Shoba Surendran, Pattikajathi Morcha president P.K. Velayudhan and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president V.V. Rajesh will be permanent members of the yatra. General secretary K.P.Sreesan is the coordinator and T. Chandrasekharan, K.S. Rajan and J.R. Padmakumar are the joint coordinators.
