The Madhya Pradesh unit of Bharatiya Janata Party will be launching a massive state-wide signature campaign and collect millions of signatures before organising a sit-in agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to raise voice for the protection of the rights of the poor.
This was announced by Madhya Pradesh BJP president Prabhat Jha at the end of the two-day meeting of the state executive of the BJP here on Sunday. While addressing mediapersons, he accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre of working against the interests of the poor. After coming to power on the promise of removing poverty, the Congress has removed a large number of people from the below poverty line category to deprive them of the benefit of various subsidies, he pointed out.
Mr Jha said national office-bearers of the BJP belonging to Madhya Pradesh, MPs, MLAs, mayors, district panchayat presidents, led by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and give him a memorandum to demand that there should be an end of the cruel joke targeting the poor.
Mr Jha said that the UPA government has been adopting anti-people policies. The proposal to impose fresh tax on gold and jewellery, as a result of which jewellery traders had to go on strike, has caused huge losses to the jewellery traders, he said, adding that the BJP has stood solidly behind the sarafa traders. Referring to the amendment in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, he said this would open the flood gates and allow the multinationals to dominate the scene in India as a result of which millions of people in this country would go jobless. He said BJP workers will join the agitation to be held on this issue from April 9 to 11.
Earlier addressing the state BJP executive, national general secretary of the party and in-charge organisational affairs Ramlal equated the working of the state BJP government headed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan with “Ramraj” (governance associated with Lord Ram) and good governance. He said all state governments where the BJP is in power are doing good work. There is good coordination between the party and those in government in all BJP-ruled states but Madhya Pradesh deserves to get the first position on this count, he added.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also joined Mr Ramlal in reiterating the resolve to establish “Ramraj” in Madhya Pradesh.