BJP submits a 27 point charter to PM on the eve of budget session

New Delhi, Feb 20 (UNI) The BJP today submitted a memorandum containing a charter of 27 demands, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighting the UPA Government's failure on many fronts and seeking remedy for checking suicides by farmers, inflation, price rise, lowering of interest rate on loans including those on housing.

Besides it criticised the government for ignoring agriculture and rural economy and not paying much attention to power crisis and 'water wars'.

The party said the ambitious infrastructure project of Highways was also showing "signs of derailment".

In a 21-page letter sent to the Prime Minister, BJP President Rajnath Singh pointed out that on one side, the economy was booming but on the other, the life of the common man was becoming more and more hard and difficult.

Describing the pet Congress slogan "Aam Aadmi" as merely a ''gimmick'' in the last election, he said that though the wholesale price index was showing inflation at 6.73 per cent, the budget of the commonman had gone up by 30 to 40 per cent, citing prices of pulses up by 30 per cent, fruits and vegetables by 20 per cent and basic metals and cement, by 20 per cent.

The letter claimed that the NDA government had put the economy on eight plus per cent economic growth and the Rs 1,00,000 crore of capital expenditure on infrastructure was showing positive result.

In addition, incentives to the housing sector, easy and cheaper finance, revolution in IT sector, higher exports and increasing foreign exchange reserves had set the economy roling.

It said it was a matter of concern that eight per cent economic growth was associated with seven per cent inflation which the government had failed to check. China which had an economic growth of 10 per cent had successfully contained Consumer price Index at two per cent, it pointed out, adding that the economic growth should be linked to easing the life of a common man.

The BJP President also pointed out that the rise of sensex from 6000 to 14000 (133 per cent increase) and the doubling of index of commodity exchanges had not helped the people in general and only a small section of the society benefitted by it.

MORE UNI