By IANS
New Delhi : The fledgling ‘third front’ of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) Monday made up for the loss of a vital ally, the AIADMK, by inviting Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah to its meeting here Monday.
Abdullah, who had earlier addressed a UNPA rally at Vijaywada Nov 24, “is with us and will soon formally join our front”, said Telugu Desam Party former MP Kammapatti Rama Mohan Rao.
UNPA convenor N. Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, and alliance chairman Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, were present at the Monday meet held at the residence of Samajwadi Party general secretary and spokesman Amar Singh.
AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalitha, who was among the founders of the alliance based on the concept of equidistance from both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is now drifting towards the BJP.
At the Monday meet, two other important front leaders, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Brindavan Goswami, failed to turn up but they sent their representatives, Ajay Chautala (INLD) and Arun Sharma (AGP).
At the meeting, the UNPA attacked the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for what it described as its anti-farmer policies and announced a series of public rallies in support of farmers.
“The next rally will be held on Jan 28 at Aurangabad. On Feb 3 we will hold a rally at Mumbai, at Ranchi on Feb 6 and at Sonipat in Haryana on Feb 11,” Naidu said.
The UNPA leaders also met Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat earlier in the day.
Mulayam Singh Yadav said: “Why should the government acquire land for (special) economic zones? The government may facilitate the deal if the farmers are willing but they want to acquire and hand over to industrialists prime agriculture land from Noida to Ballia.”