Sushma,BJP leaders courts arrest against rising inflation

Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Uma Shankar Bhargava declared the venue as “temporary jail” before announcing the arrest of the BJP leaders. Later,he announced their release from the place.

Earlier addressing the protestors,mostly women,Swaraj blamed the “UPA government’s wrong policies and corruption of Ministers” as the main reason for the rising inflation.

“A minister alone was involved in the Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2G scam under this government,” she alleged and also referred to other scams that took place under the UPA.

She also criticised the Centre for treating Opposition ruled states in a “partisan manner” and specially highlighted the case of Madhya Pradesh in this regard,specially on the issue of coal allocation,power,food grains under BPL,Indira Awas Kutir and gunny bags for storing wheat.

Before courting arrest,the Leader of Opposition demanded total rollback of hike in petrol prices and food articles and not to treat opposition-ruled states in a step-motherly way.

BJP activists stage protests across Punjab,Haryana

BJP activists in Punjab and Haryana on Friday staged demonstrations in district headquarters to protest the price spiral,including hike in petrol rates.

Except four BJP ministers and five Chief Parliamentary Secretaries of Punjab,all state party leaders,including MPs and MLAs,will court arrest later in the day at all the district headquarters in the state,a party spokesman said here.

The protest is part of the nation-wide stir organised by the BJP against runaway food inflation and “maladministration” of the UPA government.

The protest will also focus on “maladministration” of the UPA government at the Centre,Punjab BJP General Secretary Kanwal Sharma said.

Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Punj and party MP Navjot Singh Sidhu are spear-heading the protest at Amritsar,National Vice President Shanta Kumar and senior leader Manoranjan Kalia at Jalandhar and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma at Pathankot.

“We will stage peaceful protests in front of Deputy Commissioners offices and later offer arrest,” a BJP spokesman said,adding that there would not be any forceful closure of shops and blockade of traffic as part of the protest.

Meanwhile,BJP’s key ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab is not taking part in the protest.

SAD spokesman Daljeet Singh Cheema said that “It (the protest) is their own (BJP’s) programme and SAD is not part of it”. Meanwhile,in Haryana,saffron party activists gathered around Deputy Commissioners offices as part of their protest.

The BJP’s jail bharo agitation was cancelled in Mumbai in the wake of the massive fire at the Mantralaya.

“Due to fire at the Mantralaya here yesterday,the BJP ‘jail bharo’ has been cancelled here,” Maharashtra BJP chief Sudhir Mugantiwar explained.

The nation-wide agitation,however,continued in other parts of Maharashtra,as part of the BJP’s protest against rising inflation and corruption in the country.