BANGALORE, SEPT 17: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned to hold a ``march to villages'' programme from September 21 to October 18 as its third phase agitation to educate people about the Janata Dal government's failure and achievements of the BJP government at the Centre.Announcing this to the media here on Thursday, the BJP state unit president B S Yediyurappa informed that the decision to organise the third phase agitational programme, which would be formally launched in Gulbarga on September 21, was taken at the party office bearers' emergent meet on Wednesday.
He said the party's office bearers will visit all the State villages during the period and create an awareness among people about the JD Government's anti-people policies which included hefty power tariff hike, fixing meters to the irrigation pumpsets and Bhagyajyothi connections, among other things. Nine groups led by senior leaders, MPs, Union Ministers and office bearers at State level will visit the Hobli centres, office-holders atdistrict level would visit the gram panchayats and those at the taluka level would visit the villages.
People would be enlightened about the ruling party's negligence towards people's problems and how the Opposition Congress has become a ``puppet'' in the hands of the JD government.
Answering to some other questions posed by the media on the present scarcity of fertilisers in the State, Yediyurappa said that the scarcity was due to the delay on the part of the United Front government headed by the then prime minister I K Gujral in announcing subsidy on fertilisers. He said the BJP soon after coming to power had written to all state governments that it was committed to release the subsidy amount.
About the Centre's policy of allowing the market forces to fix the maximum retail price of fertilisers, he stated that a delegation of BJP MPs would call on the Union Agriculture Minister in this regard shortly and ascertain the pros and cons of such a policy.
Yediyurappa also took strong exception to thepostponement of the unveiling of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue in Gulbarga. He accused the JD government as ``an important government'' for its failure to get the statue unveiled to mark the golden jubilee of the Hyderabad Liberation Day. He demanded an apology from Chief Minister J H Patel for the lapses and alleged that the unveiling programme had been postponed succumbing to pressure from some vested interests.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.