Rajnath demands white paper on price rise

Raipur, July 25 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh today demanded the Centre present a white paper on the circumstances that led to sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities in the country.

''Union Finance Minister is saying that it is because of climatic fluctuations,'' he said, while addressing a public meeting organised by the Chhattisgarh unit of the BJP to protest the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government's failure to contain price rise and terrorism.

''The prices of everything, except human lives, have gone up,'' the BJP President said, adding this phenomenon began after the Congress came to power at the Centre. ''The previous NDA government had been successful in keeping the prices under control,'' he claimed.

Reiterating that human lives has become very cheap, Mr Singh said terrorist and Naxals had spread their activities across the country, killing innocent and unsuspecting people.

Accusing the Congress of being soft on terrorism and naxalism, the BJP leader said the Congress in Kerala had been demanding the release of Abdul Nasir Madani, who is in jail in connection with the Coimbatore bomb blasts.

He said such terrorists and Naxals had spread their activities only during the Congress regime.

''It is not that there were no terrorist attacks during the NDA regime,'' he said adding the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government dealt it with strong political will and introduced successful legislation like POTA.

He said it was only because of a law like POTA that the terrorists, who attacked Akshardham temple in Gujarat, could be convicted and sentenced to death.

Earlier, BJP workers took out an 'impressive' rally in the state capital to protest against price rise and the UPA's failure to contain terrorism.

UNI SM-JJ PS PA ND2008