Date:13/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/13/stories/2008111355771300.htm

National

BJP attacks UPA on price rise, terrorism

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: With price rise and terrorism taken up by the Bharatiya Janata Party as its twin planks in the coming State Assembly elections, two of its leaders attacked the United Progressive Alliance government, one on economic issues and the other on the handling of terror investigation.

General secretary Arun Jaitley, in-charge of the party’s Delhi campaign, which has focussed on price rise, said on Wednesday that in his view the Indian economy was experiencing “stagflation.”

He painted a grim picture based on reports that exports for October 2008 were 15 per cent lower than for October last year, and excise collection was down by 5 per cent. In his view, this showed slowdown in manufacturing, which in turn would translate into job losses and falling revenue for the government.

In fact, we are in a “complete recession,” he added. At such times prices should have gone down, but India was experiencing double-digit inflation.

Mr. Jaitley said the government had not acted.

“There has been no initiative from the government to show it is on top of the situation. The government should create economic activity by big spending on infrastructure, but no policy to this effect had as yet been unveiled.”

The Delhi campaign would point out that while “the economy was in trauma, the government was in a coma.”

Mr. Venkaiah Naidu charged the Congress with playing politics instead of taking concrete steps for the safety and security of citizens. He saw a design to tarnish “nationalist forces,” a phrase used by the BJP to describe itself and organisations affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He objected to names of various people blackened by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra police by linking them to terrorism without adequate proof.

Mr. Naidu did not respond when asked why the BJP had not objected to the Gujarat police labelling many accused as “terrorists” even before charges were proved against them.

The police should interrogate, investigate and file its charges in the court where the accused could be tried, Mr. Naidu said while disapproving of selective police leaks to the media dragging various names.

Although he did not mention, the reference was to news reports that the ATS may have established a link between those it has arrested and the BJP MP from Gorakhpur.