BJP threatens to pull out Soren government on Monday

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will meet Jharkhand Governor M.O.H. Farook on Monday to withdraw support from the Shibu Soren-led government. "We will meet the governor at 11.30 am to withdraw support from Soren's government.
The JMM's changing stand has pushed the state into political uncertainty and the party has decided to withdraw support," the Jharkhand BJP president and the Deputy Chief Minister Mr Raghubar Das told IANS. Jharkhand has been facing a political crisis since April 27 when Soren voted against the BJP's cut motions in the Lok Sabha last month. This led the BJP, a junior partner in the Jharkhand coalition, to announce withdrawal of support from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on April 28. On April 30, BJP put its withdrawal decision on hold. On May 8, JMM announced that it would support the BJP. Ten days later, on May 18, BJP agreed to a rotation of power with Soren. On May 20, however, Soren refused to quit and announced that talks were on with both the BJP and the Congress for the formation of an alternative government in Jharkhand.
Soren's defiant attitude prompted the BJP to withdraw support from his government.

Centre introduces 4 education Bills in LS

Going forward with on its agenda to reform the education sector, the Union government on Monday introduced four major Bills.

The Speaker, Ms Meira Kumar, asked the HRD minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, to introduce the four Bills assigned against his name in the order paper.

One of the most important Bills to be introduced was the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill.

The Bill seeks to allow the entry and operation of foreign universities in the country.

The major provisions of the Bill have conditions like Rs 50 crore as corpus fund to be deposited by the aspiring institute to be allowed to operate.

Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and University Bill introduced by the HRD minister aims to book institutes and their administrators if they indulge in fraud.

While the third Bill, the Educational Tribunal Bill, provides for setting up of tribunals to settle all types of disputes, including any type of mal-practice or harassment of students.

The fourth Bill introduced was the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill.

The proposed agency will assess and accredit institutions of higher education to ensure high standards

"Govt. not involved in phone tapping"

After price rise and IPL irregularities, reports of phone tapping of senior political leaders provided ammunition to a united Opposition to corner the government in Parliament, which on Monday witnessed uproar and disruption of proceedings.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would make a statement on the issue at 3.30 p.m. but an unrelenting Opposition would have none of it. A statement by Home Minister P. Chidambaram was also drowned in the din. In both Houses, the Opposition members demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the allegations of phone tapping.

While categorically denying tapping or eavesdropping on political leaders, Mr. Chidambaram said neither the previous nor present UPA government authorised any such activity.

“After the issue of the news magazine [Outlook] was available late on April 23, 2010, the allegations in the story were thoroughly enquired into. Nothing has been found in the records of the National Technical Research Organisation [NTRO] or elsewhere to substantiate the allegations,” the Minister said in identical statements in the two Houses. However, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) termed his statement “unconvincing.” Its Polit Bureau demanded an independent probe into the matter so that the truth could be uncovered.

“Fully accountable”

Asserting that the intelligence agencies were fully accountable to the government and that they functioned within the law, Mr. Chidambaram said: “Under the Telegraph Act and the Information Technology Act, each case of monitoring of telephone or electronic communication has to be approved by the Union Home Secretary personally, and is subject to review by an Oversight Committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Such monitoring as may be necessary to fight crime, for national security, or for our counter-terrorism effort, is subject to multiple checks and oversight.”

Reiterating that the government was committed to defending the rights of every citizen, including the right to privacy, and would uphold the rights of the citizen enshrined in the Constitution, the Minister informed Parliament that further enquiries were being made into the allegations made in the magazine. “If any evidence is forthcoming or discovered, the matter will be thoroughly investigated by the appropriate agencies.”

“Extremely serious”

Earlier, as soon as the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, the Opposition demanded suspension of question hour and a statement by the Prime Minister. Senior BJP leader and NDA working chairman L.K. Advani described allegations of phone tapping as “extremely serious” and said the members would not be satisfied until they heard the Prime Minister.

Stating that phone tapping reports smacked of Emergency days, Mr. Advani demanded scrapping of the outdated Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and protection of the constitutional rights of all citizens. “Let there be a new law, the government cannot abuse its authority. Democracy has to be protected. We want a clear statement by the Prime Minister.”

Raise slogans

With leaders and members of the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (United) trooping into the well and raising slogans, the House was adjourned twice, and for the day in the afternoon.

However, Bahujan Samaj Party members neither indulged in slogan shouting, nor rushed to the well.

Adjourned thrice

In the Rajya Sabha, members from the Left, the BJP, the Samajwadi Party and the AIADMK did not allow proceedings to go on.

The House was adjourned thrice during the day and even when it reassembled in the afternoon, Opposition members continued with slogan shouting and protests. Amid uproar, Mr. Chidambaram read out his statement.

As Opposition members remained insistent on their demands, Deputy Chairman K. Rehman Khan adjourned the House for the day.

All-party meeting on women's Bill today

After the recent ruckus in Rajya Sabha, the government wants to play it safe

Finance Minister and Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee has convened a meeting of all-party floor leaders in the Lok Sabha on Monday to discuss the Women's Reservation Bill, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 9.

The government intends to table the Bill for consideration and approval of the Lok Sabha. If ratified by at least half of the State Legislative Assemblies, the Bill will become effective, and thus the 108th Amendment to the Constitution will be made.

The Bill provides 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and Assemblies. The Upper House adopted the long-pending Bill with 191 members supporting it and a lone member saying no.

The Lok Sabha is scheduled to resume its Budget session from April 15, after a nearly month-long recess.

The all-party meeting is a sequel to an assurance given by Mr. Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha on March 11 that the government would consult all concerned before bringing the Bill for consideration of the House. As disturbances caused by some Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha are still fresh in everyone's mind, the government wants to play it safe and has decided to hold a free and fair talk with representatives of all the parties.

It is also necessary as Lalu Prasad of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Mulayam Singh of the Samajwadi Party and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal (United) had made it clear that they would not allow the passage of the Bill unless the government came out with sub-quota for Other Backward Class women and Muslim women.

Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily, hinting that the Bill may be tabled in its present form, refused to answer a “hypothetical question” on whether the government would reconsider changes suggested by some Opposition parties. “The Bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha and it is before the Lok Sabha for its consideration. That's it..,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has already hinted that the Bharatiya Janata Party would attend the meeting with an open mind. She refused to comment on what would her party's stand be if the government tried to dilute the percentage.

No change to Women’s Bill: PM

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday dismissed as “too premature” the possibility of any dilution in the Women’s Reservation Bill ahead of a meeting of leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha. The meeting has been convened here on April 5 for wider consultations with political party leaders to try and evolve at a consensus.
The Congress has rejected suggestions of any dilution in the bill during its official briefing held on Wednesday afternoon, while the law minister, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, had on Tuesday said the government would be going ahead with the bill in its present form in the Lok Sabha in the second phase of the Budget Session beginning April 15.
“It is too premature” was Dr Singh’s cryptic response when asked whether the bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies, could see any dilution in view of the opposition by some political parties.
He said the matter was under discussion. “We will discuss with political parties how best to proceed. We are committed to discussing the issue”.
The current mood in the Congress and the government is not for dilution in this historic piece of legislation after realising that the party stands to gain and the BJP, Left will have no option but to support it.
The Mandalite parties — SP, JD(U) and the RJD — which are confined to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, cannot stop the historic process, initiated by the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, even at the stake of the government at the Centre, insiders viewed.

I-T inquiry ordered into Maya currency garland

The UP Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati’s garland of currency notes worth crores of rupees rocked the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and forced the Income Tax department to probe the issue.

The Lok Sabha had to be adjourned twice in the first half as the Congress, BJP and the SP members attacked the BSP chief for wearing a huge garland at a public rally on Monday and disrupted House proceedings.

As chaos continued the Deputy Speaker, Mr Kariya Munda, adjourned the House for recess till 12 pm.

“We want a CBI probe into the source of the money used in the garland,” said the SP chief, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The I-T department will probe the funding and ownership of currency notes, sources said.

The department has also asked its intelligence wing to gather information in this regard including the funding of the entire event that took place to celebrate the BSP’s silver jubilee.

The department will also probe the genuineness of the notes which could be seized for the purpose, they said.

Nuclear liability bill deferred in Lok Sabha

Apprehending trouble from opposition, Government on Monday deferred introduction in Lok Sabha of nuclear liability bill which is a key step in operationalisation of the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal.

“I have a request from the Minister Prithviraj Chavan that government does not intend to introduce the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill today,” Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar announced in the House.

The bill was mentioned in the list of business for the day and the government’s decision sparked protests the opposition.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj demanded that since the matter was listed, a motion had to be moved for withdrawal of the Bill from the agenda.

The Speaker, however, rejected the demand saying that such a motion cannot be moved as the bill has not been introduced in the House.

Accepting Speaker’s ruling, NDA working chairman L.K. Advani said the government should tell the House why it was not going ahead with introduction of the bill since it has been listed.

The government move came apparently in view of declaration by the Left parties and BJP that they would strongly oppose the proposed legislation.

The bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.

However, the draft bill also has provisions that would enable the government to either increase or decrease the amount of liability of any operator.

Mr. Advani said the bill was an important business listed for the day but the government has suddenly decided not to introduce it.

“The government should tell the House why it is not introducing the bill. Government should tell the House whether it has a re-think on it or whether they are not introducing because of opposition to the bill,” he said.

However, there, was no response from the government.

Earlier objecting to the government’s decision, Ms. Swaraj said, “The House does not run by the intention of the government but by rules of the House“.

Left parties

Left parties have dubbed the Bill as “a harmful piece of legislation meant to serve the interests of the United States and its nuclear industry.”

Describing the legislation as “an outcome of the India-US nuclear deal”, they said “the government is seeking to fulfil a hidden commitment to deliver the legislation that safeguards the interests of the United States at the expense of the safety of Indian people“.

The BJP has said that it had “serious reservations” on the bill “since it caps the liability of American firms".

The Left parties said that under the proposed legislation all the liability would fall upon the operator which is state-owned the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).

The operator’s liability has been fixed at Rs 300 crore, while the overall liability is capped at Rs 2,200 crore. “This means the government will have to foot the bill for the rest of the amount. Since the NPCIL is a public sector enterprise, the whole bill is to be footed by the Indian taxpayer, while the US supplier goes scot-free,” the Left parties said.

The bill was approved by the Union cabinet on November 20 last year.

Enactment of liability law

Enactment of the liability law is one of the three key requirements because of which the Indo-US nuclear deal, concluded in September 2008 could not be operationalised so far. The other two requirements are setting up of a dedicated reprocessing facility under IAEA safeguards and declaration by India on non-proliferation.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon had met BJP leader Arun Jaitley last week to brief him about the bill, but the main opposition is yet to have all its concerns addressed.

Mr. Jaitley is understood to have given a list of queries regarding the bill to Mr. Menon but was yet to get any reply.

According to the provisions in the draft legislation, the operator would not be liable for any nuclear damage if the incident was caused by “grave national disaster of exceptional character”, armed conflict or act of terrorism and suffered by person on account of his own negligence.

The bill also provides for establishment of Nuclear Damage Claims Commission, which will have one or more claims commissioners for a specified area.

The claims commissioner shall have all powers of a civil court for the purpose of taking evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents and other material objects.

NGO launches campaign against bill

An international NGO has launched an online campaign against the nuclear liability bill alleging that the proposed legislation lets US corporations off the hook for any nuclear accidents they may cause on Indian soil.

The online petition posted by GreenPeace alleges that the UPA government is churning out “one hazardous bill after another“.

“The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage bill lets US corporations off the hook for any nuclear accidents they cause on Indian soil. They would only have to pay a meagre amount and Indian taxpayers would be stuck paying crores for the nuclear clean up and to compensate the victims,” the petition read.

GreenPeace alleged the government was “appeasing American interests and ignoring our safety“.

The petition also asked the Prime Minister to hold a public consultation before a vote on the bill in Parliament.

“India must hold public consultation before changing the liability rules for any nuclear accidents caused by US corporations,” the petition read.

Nuclear Liability Bill set to be introduced in Lok Sabha tomorrow

A crucial bill that provides for compensation in case of a nuclear accident is slated to be introduced in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, a move that is expected to give more fodder to the Opposition to attack the government.

The BJP and the Left parties have already indicated opposition to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill that is key to operationalise the landmark Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.

The Bill pegs the maximum amount of liability in case of each nuclear accident at Rs 300 crore to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant.

However, the draft bill also has provisions that would enable the government to either increase or decrease the amount of liability of any operator.

“At the introduction itself we will oppose unless the government assures us that it would be sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee,” CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.

The BJP is also understood to have expressed concern over the Rs. 300 crore limit in the liability of the nuclear power plant operator.

“All these issues are there and we will discuss all that in the standing committee,” said Mr. Yechury when asked about the Rs. 300 crore limit.

Reports had it that the government was keen on getting the Bill passed in the ongoing budget session itself.

National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon had met BJP leader Arun Jaitley to brief him about the Bill, but the main opposition is yet to have all its concerns addressed.

Mr. Jaitley is understood to have given a list of queries regarding the Bill to Mr. Menon but was yet to get any reply.

The Bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on November 20 last year.

According to the provisions in the draft legislation, the operator would not be liable for any nuclear damage if the incident was caused by “grave national disaster of exceptional character”, armed conflict or act of terrorism and suffered by person on account of his own negligence.

Former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and key architect of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal Anil Kakodkar feels that the liability limit is optimum.

“It was important that this amount was not kept too low. I think this is the appropriate and reasonable level,” he said adding that it was “quite balanced and needs to be passed in its present form.”

The Bill also provides for establishment of Nuclear Damage Claims Commission which will have one or more claims commissioners for a specified area.

The claims commissioner shall have all powers of a civil court for the purpose of taking evidence on oath, enforcing attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents and other material objects.

UPA may dilute 33% women's quota

Crisis managers in the ruling United Progressive Alliance are working on a proposal to bring the 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies (in the bill passed by the Rajya Sabha earlier this week) down to 20 per cent.

This suggestion emerged before the UPA’s managers at their recent meeting with the three top Yadav leaders (Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav), as well as with railway minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee and the DMK’s Mr T.R. Baalu, well-informed sources said.

While all political parties continue to stick to their publicly-stated positions on the controversial legislation, the realisation is growing that it will be difficult to get it passed in the Lok Sabha in its existing form. The current bill is strongly resisted by large numbers of Lok Sabha MPs, cutting across party lines.

MP tears copy of Women's Bill

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till Monday noon after MPs from the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) noisily opposed the Women's Reservation Bill that seeks to reserve a third of seats for women in all legislatures.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD president Lalu Prasad joined their party MPs in raising slogans as the speaker tried to continue the question hour amid the din.

Some SP and BSP MPs tried to disrupt the proceedings by gathering near the speaker's podium. The MPs from the three parties demanded that the bill should ensure a "quota within the quota" for women from backward classes.

At one stage, Mulayam Singh had a verbal spat with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the leader of the house. A desperate Mukherjee appealed to Mulayam Yadav with folded hands to end the disruption.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav, one of the bitterest critics of the bill, was not present in the house.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his deputy V. Narayanasamy also tried to pacify Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad but failed.

Unable to bring peace, the speaker adjourned the house at 11.20 a.m.

The protests started soon after the speaker welcomed special guests from the Croatian parliament to watch the house proceedings from a special box and made a reference to the international women's day Monday.

State resolution seeks BC quota

The state government on Saturday reintroduced a resolution requesting the Central government to provide 33.33 per cent reservations for Backward Classes including Muslims in the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, introduced the resolution and the House unanimously passed the same.

The late chief minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had moved the same resolution on August 29, 2008 and ensured that it was unanimously accepted in the House.

The House reiterated the recommendation already made earlier as the MIM stalled the proceedings for two days demanding political reservations for Muslims.

Amidst noisy scenes, the House adopted the resolution without any debate. No political party leader was given a chance to speak on the resolution.

The resolution asked the Centre to bring necessary amendment to the Constitution to provide the reservation.

The MIM floor leader, Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, and his team were hell bent on extending the political reservations to Muslims in the wake of the introduction of Women Reservation Bill in the Parliament.

The MIM argued that the Women Reservation Bill would deprive the community of its place in the legislature.

MIM: Bill will create Hindu LS

The MIM chief, Mr Asaduddin Owaisi, said in the Lok Sabha that the Women’s Reservation Bill in its present form would sound the “death knell” for his community.

Mr Owaisi said that the Bill would deprive the community of its place in the legislature and the House will eventually turn into a “Hindu Lok Sabha”. Participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, he said that Muslims would have “no space” if the Bill was passed.

“Reservation should start with the Muslim community as they are backward,” Mr Owaisi said. He pointed out that there was only one Muslim member each from AP, Maharashtra and Karnataka in the Lok Sabha Ms Sumitra Mahajan, chairing the proceedings, asked him to restrain himself. Some members objected to his remarks.

Opposition steps up offensive on price hike

Sensing an opportunity to expose the lack of unity in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the issue of hike in the taxes on petroleum products, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Opposition is drawing up plans to embarrass the government.

The BJP also plans to take Opposition unity on this issue to a new plane even as the Left parties decided to step up pressure on the government leading to its March 12 rally in the capital against rise in the prices of essential commodities.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the “arrogance of power” displayed in his assertion that there would be no rollback of the increased taxes on petroleum products announced in the budget.

On Wednesday the party would plan its floor strategy on this issue and other subjects at a meeting of National Democratic Alliance leaders.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said the party did not accept the argument offered by the government to justify the hike in petroleum products.

In the context of the rise in prices of food items, he said, the effect of the hike on petrol and diesel prices would be felt and cannot be minimised. “People will be put to great suffering if there is further rise in prices, of food items in particular,” he told The Hindu.

As for the Opposition strategy in Parliament, he said while the CPI(M) was trying to bring non-Congress secular parties together, on the issue of price rise, the entire Opposition was agitated and last week’s development in Parliament was an expression of that.

After Tuesday’s strike in Kerala against the hike in fuel prices, the Left Front will hold week-long demonstrations across West Bengal. Between March 3 and 9, the Left parties will conduct processions in various places.

Separately, trade unions across the political spectrum have decided to go on a mass agitation in different parts of the country in the form of road and rail blockades, and satyagraha to protest the rise in prices of essential commodities and now the hike in petroleum products.

All India Trade Union Congress general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta, MP, told The Hindu, that for the first time all trade unions including those affiliated to the Congress and the BJP would agitate on March 5. Lakhs of workers will offer arrest in metropolitan and industrial centres in the country.

Cut motion

The BJP said the party wants to use a cut motion during the vote on the Finance Bill in the second part of the budget session less as a tool to defeat the government and more to show up the fissures in the UPA as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Trinamool Congress have both demanded a rollback of the tax hike.

The party is hoping that Opposition unity would take place automatically and on the spur of the moment as it materialised when one party after another walked out during the budget presentation on February 26 in the Lok Sabha.

Opposition walkout over hike in petroleum product duties

The proposed changes in duties related to petroleum products in the Budget stirred a hornet’s nest on Friday with the entire Opposition staging a walkout from the Lok Sabha and warning that they will not allow Parliament to run till a rollback is announced.

“This is a move that would lead to rise in prices of diesel and petrol and hit the common man already burdened by price rise,” Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said immediately after the walkout.

The issue united the entire Opposition with Left leaders like Gurudas Dasgupta, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD president Lalu Prasad addressing an impromptu joint press conference outside the Parliament House.

“The entire Opposition is together,” Mr. Prasad thundered attacking the government and accusing it of acting in a “dictatorial manner” against the interests of the common people. He said Parliament would not be allowed to function till a rollback is effected.

Raising anti-government slogans, they chanted “Jo Sarkar Nikammi Hai, Woh Sarkar Badalni Hai” (we have to change the inefficient government).

“We have boycotted the budget. Soon after a discussion on price rise, the government has increased the prices of petroleum products. This is anti-people,” Ms. Swaraj said.

She said any increase in prices of petroleum product will be an “indirect tax” and have a cascading effect on the prices of all commodities.

Lok Sabha congratulates Sachin

The Lok Sabha on Thursday congratulated Sachin Tendulkar on creating history by scoring a double century in a One-Day International in Gwalior on Wednesday.

Making a special reference in the House, Speaker Meira Kumar said the unique achievement was a matter of national pride and a source of inspiration for the younger generation.

“I am sure members will join me in conveying our heartiest felicitations and congratulations to Sachin Tendulkar for being the first cricketer in history of one-day cricket to score a double century.”

Amid thumping of desks, Ms. Kumar described this as a “unique achievement,” which was a matter of national pride. “This is a source of inspiration for budding cricketers of this country. We convey our best wishes to Sachin Tendulkar for his future endeavours.”

She also congratulated the Indian cricket team on its “tremendous performance.”

BJP to launch nation-wide agitation against price rise: Sushma

BJP would launch a nation-wide agitation from February 1 to protest against rise in prices of essential commodities, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said here on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference here, she attributed “wrong” policies of the UPA government as reason for the sky-rocketing prices of essential items.

Terming the recent comment of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar that he cannot predict when the prices of sugar would come down as “irresponsible”, the senior BJP leader alleged that it was only due to the wrong policies of the UPA government that has now resulted in spiralling prices of food items.

She wanted to know what measures Union Government had taken to check the price rise.

Even pulses and sugar which are mostly used by common people have become dearer and the Centre has totally “failed” to control the price rise, the former Union minister said.

Stating that the party would raise the issue in the Parliament, she said “the party would play its role effectively as the people have given us responsibility to keep a watch on the actions of the government... where as the UPA got the mandate to rule the nation.”

The party would definitely raise the price rise issue inside and outside the Parliament, she said adding “We would hold nation-wide agitations for a fortnight from February 1, to protest the Centre’s failure to check price rise”.