Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) (राष्ट्रीय लोक दल)

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) (राष्ट्रीय लोक दल) (National People's Party) is a political party in India. Chaudhary Ajit Singh is the party president. He is carrying on the political legacy of his father and former Prime Minister of India, Charan Singh and the original Lok Dal.

The party commands a heavy influence in the western region of the state of Uttar Pradesh and is often significant in formation of the UP government.From 2002 - 2007, the party had six ministers in the UP government and its legislators held many important portfolios.Rashtriya Lok Dal is always committed to protect the rights of landless,poor and farmers.The party's official electoral symbol is handpump.

In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, RLD ran in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. The party polled 2,463,607 votes and won three seats. Under the arrangement with SP, RLD contested seats only in the western part of Uttar Pradesh traditionally dominated by Jats.

In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, RLD ran in alliance with the Bhartiya Janta Party.The party won five seats.Under the arrangement with BJP, RLD contested only seven seats, again in the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

On 12 December 2011 the RLD formally joined the United Progressive Alliance after meeting Indian National Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh

Members of Parliament

RLD has five member of parliament (in 15th Loksabha):

• Ajit Singh (Baghpat)
• Jayant Chaudhary (Mathura),he is one of the prime-movers on land acquisition issue in the country to protect farmer's interests.
• Devendra Nagpal (Amroha)
• Smt. Sarika Singh (Hathras, SC).
• Sanjay Singh Chauhan (Bijnor), His father was deputy c.m of u.p

RLD has one member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha.

• Mahmood A. Madani

MLA's

Party's MLA's in 15th Vidhan Sabha (Uttar Pradesh) are :

• Dr. Ajay Tomar (Bagpath)
• Dr. Anil ChaudharyHathras (Mahamaya Nagar)
• Abdul Waris khan (Muzaffarnagar)
• Nawab Kokab Hameed Khan (Bagpath)
• Satya Pal Singh (Aligarh)
• Sathyendra Solanky (Bagpath)
• Puran Prakash (Mathura)
• Madan Bhaiya Kasana, Khekra (Baghpat)
• Mithalesh Pal (Muzaffarnagar)
• Vimlesh Singh(Aligarh)

Advani promises probe into attack on missionaries

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (UNI) — Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, during a meeting with the Archbishop of Delhi and other senior Bishops here today, promised a high-level inquiry into the recent attacks on missionaries and their institutions, including the incident of rape in Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh.

Auxiliary Bishop of Delhi Vincent Concessad said at a press conference that Mr Advani expressed sympathy with the community and promised to do something about the recurrent attacks on institutions of a particular community.

Mr John Dayal of the All-India Catholic Union, who was a part of the delegation, said Mr Advani directed Home Secretary B.P. Singh to ask the state governments to conduct a high-level inquiry into certain incidents mentioned in a memorandum presented to him by the Archbishop of Delhi and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India Alan de Lastic.

Apart from the rape at Navapara Bhandaria in Jhabua on the night of September 22, the other incidents to be probed were looting of a building in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh on the night of September 23, burning of religious books in Rajkot, Gujarat, and exhumation of a coffin in Kapdwanj, also in Gujarat.

While not directly blaming any particular group for the attacks, Bishop Concessad said these were “an outcome of fundamentalist thinking which considers those different as outsiders”. In reply to a query, he said that incidents in Gujarat indicated “some collusion between the state government and the elements behind the attacks on Christian institutions.”

The Congress today charged the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal with launching organised attacks on institutions of a particular community at different places and said these organisations were engaged in “anti-Hindu activities”.

Congress spokespersons Girija Vyas and Ajit Jogi said the central and state governments must take action against these elements. The RSS elements were engaged in organised attacks on institutions of a particular community in several states, besides Madhya Pradesh, they alleged.

Interestingly, VHP general secretary Giriraj Kishore, while condemning the rape of four nuns in Madhya Pradesh, has blamed local Congress leaders for the same.

In a statement, said VHP’s Delhi unit leader B.L. Sharma Prem’s statement had been “distorted and mutilated” by the media and he “never supported rape or robbery”.

The BJP today distanced itself from the statements of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other organisations by stating that the party condemned the incident of rape of workers of a particular community in Jhabua and accused the state government of trying to shield “Congress men” involved in the crime.

Spokesman of the party Venkaiah Naidu told mediapersons the BJP did not agree with the statement of the VHP which stated that the rape incident was a result of conversions.

BKKP, RLD merge with Lok Dal

NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (PTI) — Mr Ajit Singh’s Bharatiya Kisan Kamgar Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal merged into the Lok Dal here today.
Mr Ajit Singh was elected president of the revived Lok Dal (LD) at the national council and general body meeting of the parties which formalised the merger. The meeting was also attended by the RLD general secretary Ramesh Chandra and LD president Durgesh Singh Baghel.
Mr Ajit Singh later told mediapersons that the LD would follow the policies enunciated by the party founder, the late Charan Singh, 11 years back.
On his stand on a tie-up with the Congress, Mr Ajit Singh said alliances were a must in today’s politics and he was open to pacts with like-minded parties for fighting communalism in the country.
Supporting reorganisation of states into smaller provinces, he said the policy had to be uniform and a commission should be set up to look into the issue.
“The BJP decision to carve out smaller states is not a policy-decision but a political one”, he said and asked if Uttaranchal could be formed, why not Bundelkhand.

BJP for CBI probe into Coimbatore blasts

CHENNAI, Sept 29 (PTI) — The BJP today demanded a CBI probe into the serial bomb blasts at Coimbatore on February 14 this year and setting up of a special court for trying those charge-sheeted in the case.

BJP Tamil Nadu unit general secretary L. Ganesan said the charge sheet filed yesterday in the blast case had mentioned two incidents — the blast at the RSS office here and Hindu Munnani leader Rajagopalan’s murder which were being probed by the CBI.

“A complete picture might not emerge if cases involving the same group of persons were investigated by different agencies,” he said.

He said the BJP’s stand about the presence of a “human bomb” targeting party leader L.K. Advani had been vindicated by the charge sheet’s contents which revealed that “seven human bombs” were present there on February 14.

The BJP had also been alleging the ISI’s involvement in the blasts, which was also denied by the state government, and the party’s stand could be proved by a thorough CBI investigation, Mr Ganesan said