Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Kalyan Singh on Sunday reiterated his commitment to building the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Talking to mediapersons in Agra, Mr Singh said he would support anyone who came forward and took the initiative to complete the project. Mr Singh accused both the SP and the BSP of indulging in corrupt practices and dividing the society on caste lines. Mr Singh said caste census was necessary as it would help the government work on specific schemes for the welfare of the people down in the social ladder.
Mr Singh, who severed his ties with the Samajwadi Party, formed the Jan Kranti Party earlier this year. He was in Agra to attend the wedding of a party leader.
He said the BJP was in a shambles in the state and even if Ms Uma Bharti returned to the party, no difference would be made.
Mr Singh was also critical of the working of the Mayawati government.
—IANS
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Left plans to protest over Posco arrest
Akshaya Kumar Sahoo
Bhubaneswar
Agitated over the arrest of CPI MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai and police atrocities on local people who are opposing displacement by the Posco steel project, the CPI and five other non-Congress, non-BJP and non-BJD parties have planned a series of protest meetings.
In the first phase, a protest meeting would be held on May 19 which will be addressed by CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan at Balitutha, the entry point to proposed Rs 52,000-crore Posco steel plant site.
May 21 will be observed as protest day across the state. A decision to this effect was taken on Sunday at a meeting of six political parties comprising the CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc, JMM, RJD and SJP at Bhagabati Bhavan.
Apart from political parties, the organisations opposing the 12-million-tonne project announced their plan to impose a state-wide road blockade next Thursday. At least 30 protesters were injured when the police fired rubber bullets and teargas shells to evict protesters.
— mostly women and children — opposing the project.