NDA plans countrywide rallies against graft

NEW DELHI - Launching its two-month-long ‘fight against corruption’ rally in the national capital, the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Wednesday announced dates for rallies in other parts of the country.

NDA working chairman L.K. Advani said that after Delhi, Guwahati will be the next stop for the rally Jan 9.

“We are holding another rally in Mumbai at Shivaji Park Jan 16. Then, we will hold rallies at Bhubaneswar Jan 17 and Jaipur Jan 19. Chennai will host the rally Jan 21 and Kanpur on Feb 5. In Haryana’s Rohtak district, the rally will be held Feb 6,” Advani said.

However, the rally dates for Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and Bhopal have not yet been finalised.

The former home minister pointed out that the NDA workers will reach out to people in villages, tehsils and at panchayat level in the first week of February to expose corruption in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.

During his speech, the BJP veteran accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of acting at the behest of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, addressing her as “10 Janpath”.

Advani also maintained that Manmohan Singh had the power to give the go-ahead for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam. He appealed to Manmohan Singh to give up his “no-JPC” stance.

“I am making my final appeal… Please accept the demand and say what you want to say (at the JPC),” he said.

The BJP-led NDA Wednesday launched its two-month-long ‘fight against corruption’ rally at the national capital.