Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi said today that the issue will be raised in the next session of Parliament. “I have heard that a particular group of people were demanding jobs but were given bullets instead,” said Joshi.

Commenting on Mamata Banerjee’s decision to go it alone in the panchyat elections, Joshi said it all depends on her mood. “In West Bengal she says something about the panchayat elections and then says something else in Delhi,” said Joshi. It is for her to decide whether she wants to be a part of the NDA or not, he added.

Joshi claimed the CPM government in the state was anti-farmer. Referring to Arjun Sengupta’s report on unorganised labour, Joshi pointed out that the number of starving people in West Bengal was higher than other states.

Trying to puncture holes in the UPA government’s growth model, Joshi said about 40 per cent of Indians have a per capita earning ranging from Rs 9 to Rs 20 per day. Insisting on the need for a serious review, he said with the current model of growth the gulf between the rich and poor is increasing.

“The UPA government has no concern for the aam admi (common man). The increasing number of suicides by farmers has something to do with stress,” he added.