Mahajan flays UPA's minority policy

Criticising the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for its "appeasement policy" of minorities, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Pramod Mahajan yesterday alleged that they were sending "wrong signal" to the people.

Mahajan, who was here as part of his "parivartan yatra" launched in Maharashtra earlier this month, told reporters that the government's "appeasement policy of minorities was sending wrong signals to the people of the country".

Condemning the UPA government's decision to repeal Pota, Mahajan said it was also an act of appeasement. "The Act would expire naturally by October this year in view of the 'sunset clause' of three-year period made in it. The step to repeal Pota in August is to appease specific personalities," he alleged.

On the BJP's three-phase campaign in Maharashtra for the ensuing Assembly elections, Mahajan said the first phase was launched in Pune on August 1, the birthday of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annabhau Sathe.

The second phase would be launched from September 5 to 11, during which volunteers would go on door-to-door campaign, explaining the "parivartan abhiyan" of the BJP in all constituencies.

The third phase would start from September 29 after the immersion of Ganesh idol.

Mahajan expressed confidence that the saffron combine would win in the ensuing assembly polls in the state. Mahajan claimed that the public meetings addressed by him in 25 constituencies received tremendous response.

He said the BJP, to highlight issues pertaining to women and youth, would organise a women's rally on August 22 at Shegaon and a youth's rally on September 11 at Mumbai. The BJP and the Shiv Sena would launch a joint poll campaign in the state, he said.

For better co-ordination between the workers of both the parties, a joint rally of selected party workers of the saffron combine would be held on August 25 in Mumbai where only 10 workers from both parties from each constituency would be invited. Sena supremo Bal Thackeray would address the rally.

To a query, Mahajan denied any alliance with the BSP, but added there would be seat adjustment with the Swatantra Bharat Party""the political wing of the Shetkari Sanghatana.

Giving details of 2004 elections, Mahajan said the BJP suffered a setback in UP while the NDA received a jolt in TN and AP.

He said the BJP was not toeing the Hindutva line, but following nationalism and added for the BJP, Hindutva was synonymous with nationalism.

He said the recent election results revealed that the BJP made inroads into rural areas. Asked why the BJP would make malnutrition an election issue, Mahajan said: "It is natural. Any issue that is in prominence before election, will be highlighted by the Opposition".

Mahajan said while the BJP-Sena government allocated 9 per cent in the Budget for tribals, the Congress-led Democratic Front government brought it down to 1.5 per cent this year.

He also said any criminal, who is chargesheeted, would not be given ticket in the ensuing Assembly polls by his party. On the burden to the government exchequer following the DF government's decision to provide free power to farmers and waiving of loans, Mahajan said the present government already had a Rs 100,000 crore burden.

"However, the BJP is of the opinion that the benefit of these sops should not go to creamy layer," he added.

Besides Mahajan, other leaders spearheading the "parivartan yatra" were Gopinath Munde, Eknath Khadse and Nitin Gadkari. Mahajan had addressed public meetings at Kinwat and Degloor in the district as part of the yatra on August 8 and 9.