RLM accuses BJP of engineering
rise in prices to help traders
The Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (National Democratic Front) launched its campaign for the assemblies of Delhi and three other states yesterday by blaming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and in the capital for its "all-round failure" to govern and calling for consolidation of the third front.
Addressing a rally at the Ramlila grounds, RLM politicians led by their president, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav mounted a frontal attack on the ruling coalition at the Centre, saying Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government had messed up everything.
The RLM leaders, who were silent throughout the four-hour rally on any possible tie-up with the Congress, were consistent in calling for consolidation of the third front's votes. They cautioned people against dividing these votes as it would only result in bringing back the BJP or the Congress.
Laloo Prasad, former Bihar chief minister, urged the 2.5 million Bihari voters in the capital not to support former railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan or vote for the Janata Dal as that party's base has been eroded. A vote for the Janata Dal will be a wasted vote, he warned.
Mulayam Singh blamed the BJP for creating a rift between people in the name of religion. He said the country might split if the party is allowed to continue to rule.
The two Yadavs said all the parties that have united under the RLM's banner would contest the assembly elections jointly.
The Rashtriya Janata Party's Shankersinh Vaghela accused the BJP leadership of lacking the art to rule. "They [the BJP leaders] are very good at raising slogans and giving speeches, but do not know how to
rule," he said.
Mulayam Singh, Laloo Prasad, and Vaghela were all of the view that the rise in prices of onions and the adulteration of mustard oil in Delhi were facilitated by the BJP as part of a well-planned strategy to benefit traders.
They said the country needed onions more than nuclear bombs.
They said the manner in which the BJP captured power in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh proved that its leaders are masters of political manipulation.
They said Sushma Swaraj was brought in as chief minister of Delhi because the BJP was aware that its days are numbered if the law-and-order situation continues to worsen or prices continue to soar. A recent survey that predicted the BJP's defeat was also behind the decision to throw Sahib Singh Verma out, they said.
Mulayam Singh said the RLM would resist any move to change the present education system in such a manner as to harm the country's secular fabric. He congratulated the Akali Dal for boycotting the 'Saraswati vandana' at the education ministers' conference.
Laloo Prasad warned that in the guise of nationalising education or other sectors, the BJP is trying to promote "Hinduwaad".
Referring to his interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the fodder scandal, the RJD supremo said he was asked "funny questions" on topics ranging from film star Mamta Kulkarni to his barber and gas dealer.
He said the manner of interrogation raised questions about the agency's independence. He said the questionnaire was prepared only to embarrass and harass him.
Giving details, he said he was asked whether he had ever made Kulkarni dance at a function in Bihar. "I told them Mamta Kulkarni is like my daughter or sister. No father or brother will make his daughter or sister dance," he declared.
About his barber, Yadav claimed to have told the sleuths, "I have a katora-chhap (bowl-shaped haircut) for which I do not need a barber. Every six months I sprinkle water over my hair and cut it with a pair of scissors. As far as my son is concerned, he has a 'hippy cut' (long hair) and doesn't need a barber."
When asked which fertiliser he used in his fields, the RJD chief said he only used cow dung.
About his gas dealer, Yadav said food in his house is cooked on chulhas (country stoves using wood or dung as fuel).
UNI
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