Kerala - Kochi   

Discuss intrusion issue with China, says Rajnath Singh

in new territory: Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh arriving in Kochi on Saturday.

KOCHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the issue of ‘intrusion into Indian territory’ with the Chinese authorities.

At a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Singh alleged that there was repeated intrusion into the Indian territory, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh.

He appealed to the Prime Minister, who is going on a visit to China, to reiterate that India would not compromise on the issue. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee’s statement on the issue indicated that he had accepted the intrusions, the BJP leader alleged.

Mr. Singh said the Congress had been held hostage to the CPI(M) politics. CPI(M)’s leanings to China was a well-known fact, he said.

“The Congress is paying a ransom (to CPI-M). It is adversely affecting the governance. The people of India are paying a heavy price for it,” he said. The BJP was of the opinion that the CPI(M) was misusing power, without responsibility.

The UPA government had failed to contain the prices, he said. “We kept the prices under control for six years,” he said. The UPA government could not do it during the three-and-a-half years of its rule. The people were suffering due to price rise.

The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala was practising religious intolerance. It had not even spared churches and insulted Christian ethos.

The State government was encouraging fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism. The government had cultivated a culture of political violence against its opponents. He alleged that the government machinery was protecting murder of political opponents. The State had suffered from the fight within the party and the government, he said.

Expressing concern over the government’s policy on Sabarimala temple, he said the arrangements made by the government for lakhs of Sabarimala devotees were inadequate. “The Sabarimala temple board is packed with Leftists and non-believers. Funds meant to develop the temple are diverted for other causes,” he alleged.

Rice, the staple food of Keralites, was beyond the reach of common man. He claimed that during the NDA rule, the government could sell rice at half the present price.

“Kerala should think beyond Congress and the Left. Unless the people think of a third alternative like the BJP, the situation will continue to worsen. It is the people who have to search for alternatives,” he said.

Asked about the incident of a BJP leader in the State quitting the party, he said the State unit would deal with it. BJP all India secretary in charge of Kerala Balbir Poonj, State president P.K. Krishnadas and State general secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan were also present.

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