Price rise: BJP phase II protests from July 17 to 24

New Delhi, July 13 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today announced the launch from July 17 to 24 of the second phase of nationwide agitation against price rise of essential commodities.

The party will hold dharnas at 1,000 places and rallies at 10,000 cities and towns in the country besides holding 30 minutes of 'Ghanta naad' -- ringing of bells between 1100 to 1130 hours as the Monsoon session of Parliament starts in Delhi.

The UPA Government and its ham handed policy is squarely responsible for the rising prices of all essential commodities, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said alleging that the price rise was not because of any natural calamity but a 'manufactured crisis'.

The government has failed its people because of its inability to intervene in time and by implementing its anti-people policies, he said. "It is ironic that the ruling party itself is distancing itself from the government while the Left parties were staging 'pseudo street demonstrations' in the streets," he alleged.

He said the the party would demand that the government provide essential commodities like wheat, rice, dal, edible oil and sugar at reasonable price through the public distribution system and roll back the fuel prices. It should enact tougher laws to check terrorism and go to the roots of corruption at high level including scandals like Navy war room leak, Scorpene submarine deal and defreezing of London bank accounts of Bofors kingpin Ottavio Quattorocchi and seek punishment of the guilty.

Senior party leaders like L K Advani will visit Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh while BJP President Rajnath Singh will address meetings in Maharashtra and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will address meetings in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi will address meetings at Uttar Pradesh, Mr Jaswant Singh in Karnataka, Mrs Sushma Swaraj at Delhi, Mr Shantha Kumar in Bihar. Mr Javadekar will address meetings at Orissa and West Bengal, Mr Ananth Kumar in Kerala, Mr Vinay Katiyar at Bihar and Chandigarh, Maj Gen Khanduri will lead the protests in Uttaranchal.

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