Hisar by-election will give new direction to politics: Gadkari

BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said the October 13 by-election for the Hisar Lok Sabha seat in Haryana was historic, mentioning social activist Anna Hazare's onslaught on the Congress on the poll pitch over the lokpal bill.

"The result of this election will give a new direction to the politics at the Centre and state," he said, addressing a campaign rally for the Bharatiya Janata Party-Haryana Janhit Congress alliance candidate, Kuldeep Bishnoi.
"We (BJP) are fully committed to the Jan Lokpal bill prepared by Anna Hazare and his team. You (voters) have to ensure that you support it too," he said. Attacking the Congress, he said the high inflation and scams worth several crores were its legacy. He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh claimed ignorance about every wrong deed done by his cabinet and should resign.

Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, said, "The UPA lost its popularity within one year of its rule due to unprecedented inflation and lost its credibility within two years due to large-scale corruption."

Earlier, in Dehradun, Gadkari accused the UPA government of indulging in "indiscriminate loot" and advised the PM to "retire, or, go on a pilgrimage" for showing "ignorance about the deeds of his scam-tainted ministerial colleagues".

Gadkari inaugurated the BJP's workers' convention, the party's first in Uttarakhand ahead of the assembly elections due in February.

74 Chetna Manch urges political leaders to pass Lokpal bill

RANCHI: The 74 Chetna Manch, a forum of participants of JP movement, on Monday urged all political leaders to rise above political affiliations and support Anna Hazare's demand to pass the Jan Lokpal bill in Parliament by August 30.

"We request the ruling and the opposition parties alike to listen to the peoples' support to Hazare's anti-graft bill by allowing the passage of the bill by the deadline set by him," manch convener Pramod Mishra told reporters here.

Stating that about 3,000 members of the manch comprising participants of 1974 Jaiprakash Narayan (JP) movement have been staging demonstrations across Jharkhand from August 16, Mishra said, "Political leaders should respect voice of the people by not delaying in facilitating the passage of the bill".

In the second phase of the manch's agitation in support of Hazare movement, Mishra said they staged demonstrations at Godda, Sahebganj, Deogarh, Jamshedpur, Jamshedpur and Dumka on Monday.

Having former government officials, advocates, educationists and social workers, who had participated during the JP movement, the manch has been demonstrating in several districts since August 16 by turns in support of Hazare.