BJP to launch nation-wide agitation: Venkaiah Naidu

Bangalore, June 24 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will launch a nation-wide agitation in July against the ''anti-poor and anti-farmer'' policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, BJP Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

Inauguating a two-day BJP SC Morcha National Executive Meeting here, he said a three-member Committee under his chairmanship was working out the details of the campaign. Party General Secretaries Arun Jaitley and Anant Kumar were the other Committee members.

Mr Naidu alleged that the UPA Government was insensitive to the sufferings of the people vis-a-vis price hike of essential commodities. According to agriculture scientists and experts, including the Agriculture Commission Chairman, import of pulses and oil seeds would have a negative effect on the Indian farm production, which would prove disastrous in the long run. ''The Government's justification about the price rise and attributing it to seasonal and hike in petroleum products was only half truth,'' he claimed.

Stating that the BJP was opposed to providing reservation to religious converts, he said ''we are totally against communal reservation of any kind.'' The BJP leader lambasted the Congress and the Left for opposing reservation for SC/STs and OBCs in minority institutions. ''This is a classic example of their pseudo secularism,'' he ridiculed.

UNI