CPI leaders hold protest over UPA's "anti-social" policies

D Raja said that his party had launched a nation wide 'civil-disobedience movement'

Over a hundred Communist Party of India (CPI) supporters, led by senior leaders D Raja and AB Bardhan, courted arrest here this morning as part of a protest against the Congress-led UPA government's economic policies.

Party general secretary G Sudhakar Reddy was also among those who courted arrest after a demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The CPI supporters were briefly detained before being released by police.

Slamming the Centre's economic policies as being "anti- social", Raja said their party had launched a nation-wide "civil disobedience movement" from the first week of October which would see their supporters court arrest as part of their protest.

"As we protest here in Delhi, there are protests in Kerala (as well). Tomorrow there will be state-wide protests in Tamil Nadu. Yesterday, we had protests in Andhra Pradesh. All the states are responding to our call," Raja told the gathering at Jantar Mantar.

"The Congress-led UPA government has completely failed to control inflation. The economy is in crisis. There is decline in every sector of our economy. The value of the Rupee has fallen to its lowest against the US dollar," Raja said.

"Dr Manmohan Singh is supposed to be an economist of international reputation, but the government headed by him has completely failed to revive the economy. The working people in both the organised and unorganised (sectors), are passing through unreasonable hardships.

"If the government refuses to change its policies, people will have no other option but to remove it. This is the warning CPI wants to give to the Manmohan Singh led UPA government," Raja added.