BJP National Executive Meet from Sep 7

New Delhi, Sep 3 (UNI) Spiralling price rise of essential commodities, farmers' suicides, Vande Mataram and OBC reservation are likely to dominate the three-day BJP National Executive meeting beginning at Dehra Dun on September 7, being held in the backdrop of coming election in five states belonging to the Hindi heartland.

The controversy on making optional the singing of the National Song Vande Mataram in educational institutions will be the main agenda for the Executive which is likely to announce a nation-wide stir over the issue, party sources said.

The party had already raised this issue in Parliament, accusing Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh of diluting the importance of Vande Mataram with an eye on the vote bank. The party is of the view that the National Song should not be related to religion but nation's honour.

An equally emotive issue, the Quota Bill, will also be on the top of the agenda in the meeting. Although the party is in favour of reservation for the backward classes, it wants inclusion of economic criterion as its basis. There should also be some restrictions for the creamy layer to avail the reservation facility, a senior party leader said.

Dehra Dun has been chosen the venue of the meeting keeping in view the high stakes the BJP has in Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh which go to polls early next year along with Manipur, Punjab and Delhi.

Sources said that there was a very strong anti-incumbency wave in Uttaranchal. People seemed to be very unhappy with the Congress government led by Narain Dutt Tiwari and the BJP prospects were very high. The Executive meeting would definitely help to motivate the cadre to go to the people and educate them about the party's policices, while highlighting the weaknesses of the incumbent government.

Sources said the BJP had hardly any stakes in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal where elections were held recently. But the party's prospects were very high in at least four states -- Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh assemblies and Delhi Municipal Corporation elections.

Therefore, an effort would be made to galvanise the rank and file of the party to take advantage of the situation.

The Executive is likely to adopt only one resolution on political situation in which it would rap the government on various issues like failure to check price rise, handle farmers problems which were leading them to suicides, spate in terrorist activities, Naxal uprising in many states and Indo-US Nuclear Deal which the party feels would badly affect India's nuclear programmes.

The meeting will begin in the afternoon on September 7 with the opening remarks by party President Rajnath Singh who would set the tenor and tone of the deliberations at the Executive.

Other speeches would be given by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former deputy prime minister L K Advani.

While Mr Advani will conclude the session, Mr Vajpayee will provide ''marg darshan'' to the partymen.

Mr Singh feels that ''because of incapable and inefficient leadership of the UPA, various problems have raised their heads in the past 24 months of their rule. The country has suffered a lot in economic, political and social spheres. The kind of dangers inflicted on national security, dignity of the Constitution and international standing during the UPA regime, is unprecedented in independent India''.

Be it terrorism, internal or external security, economy, unemployment or farmers issue, the Manmohan Singh government has utterly failed on all fronts, according to Mr Singh.

The resolution which is likely to outline the party's programme in the five states going to polls, will, however, speak on the party's stand on various issues confronting the nation. The continuous upward rise in prices of various commodities will definitely provide an armour to the party to take the government to task. Besides, it will not spare the government for changes being effected in the original understanding with the US on the civil nuclear deal.

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