ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

JMM jumps on the Yadavs' RLM bandwagon, promises new era

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha today joined the newly floated Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha of Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Addressing a crowded press conference in New Delhi in the presence of the Yadavs, Laloo and Mulayam, JMM president Shibu Soren said his party had joined the RLM to make the front an effective tool to take up the cause of the downtrodden and the have-nots.

Soren, who was highly critical of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said the RLM would emerge a stronger political alternative to the BJP and the front's Patna rally on July 29 would herald a new era of social movement against communal forces.

Speaking on the occasion, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Yadav made it clear that though the Left parties were not joining the RLM at this stage, the Front would have ''an understanding'' with them on various crucial issues confronting the nation.

Yadav said the RLM would hold a rally in Lucknow on August 9 and after that an action plan would be unveiled to launch a nationwide stir against injustices heaped on weaker sections.

He said he was for retaining the Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. ''Moreover, during my regime as chief minister, I had almost created a district named Rudrapur which would have been part of the Bareilly division, but due to some reasons the announcement could not be made. Later the same Rudrapur area was named as Udham Singh Nagar,'' Yadav said.

Both Soren and Mulayam Yadav expressed surprise over the Centre's move to create Vananchal while the locals were demanding Jharkhand state for years.

RJD president Laloo Yadav also sought to know from the government about the possible shape of the proposed Vananchal state.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report