Wednesday, February 1 2006 16:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Before setting out on a new march aimed at garnering support for a new political party she intends to set up as a parallel to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti today held an anti-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) protest in Delhi over farm issues and sanctioning of FDI in retail.

The expelled BJP leader also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to investigate what caused farmers in Vidharba, Telangana and Raisina to commit suicide. She demanded that Center set up a ministerial group to formulate welfare schemes for the families of the dead farmers.

Bharti, who led some 100 slogan-shouting activists at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, also fiercely criticized the Center for approving FDI in retail, claiming such a move would bury marginal traders under debts.

Also, she accused the UPA Government of stealthily pursuing a pro-WTO agenda as she slammed the Congress for the scandals over Iraq's oil-for-food programme and the Bofors issue.

"Systematic changes in the economy on one hand and a studied silence of the UPA government over Ottavio Quattrochhi and Volcker issues on the other are an alarm bell for the nation," she said.

Bharti, who is set to launch her Janadesh Yatra on February 6, dismissed the UPA Government's promise for a second green revolution, citing a spate of suicides among debt-ridden farmers. She said she would also oppose any attempt to open the farming sector for the corporate world.

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