By IANS
New Delhi : Accusing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of resorting to vote bank politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday attacked the Jharkhand government for according Urdu the status of the second official language in the state.
Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here that there are more Bangla speaking people residing in Jharkhand as compared to those speaking Urdu.
He also said this decision of the Madhu Koda-led UPA government in the state was a reversal of an earlier decision the state cabinet took under the former chief minister Arjun Munda to accord that status to Bangla.
Reacting to the conviction of 70 people in the Coimbatore blasts case of 1998 by a special court, the BJP spokesperson said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should now file an appeal in a higher court against the acquittal of Abdul Nasser Mahdani in that blast case.
Mahdani was one of the key accused in the case of the blasts triggered during the visit of BJP leader L.K. Advani to the southern city on Feb 14, 1998. Fifty-eight people were killed in the explosions.
Javdekar rejected the central government’s claim that the inflation rate had come down dramatically. He asserted that the prices of all essential commodities in general, and food items in particular, were “on fire”.
Stating that the Consumer Price Index (CPI-UNME) is the real indicator of inflation, Javadekar said, “The CPI-UNME for Delhi has increased from 430 to 522 during the UPA regime of three and half years, registering an annual increase of almost seven percent. The government should have seen its own official statistics before making such false and misleading claims, be added.
“The much touted Aam Aadmi of the Congress’ election campaign is reeling under the pressure of the continuous steep price rise. The government must consider changing its base of deciding the rate of inflation on only the Whole Sale Price Index.”
The BJP demanded a composite realistic price index, which will accurately reflect the true price situation.
The party has also raised the demand that the government must supply edible oil and pulses along with cereals through the public distribution scheme (PDS) at a reasonable price.