Left Parties State Level Joint Rally at Bangalore

Blaming the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the former National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for the country’s present state, leaders of Left parties on Tuesday underlined the need for unification of all democratic and secular forces to protect the interests of people.

They claimed that only the Left Front could offer a corruption-free government which would protect the interests of every section of society.

Addressing a rally organised at Freedom Park in Bangalore, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat strongly disputed the Gujarat government’s claims of “development” and accused the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of practicing “divisive politics.”

‘Puppet of RSS’

Dubbing the BJP as “the puppet of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)”, Ms. Karat said the party opted for Mr. Modi as he was more suitable to promote its “hate politics”, which divides the country in the name of religion. It was a tragedy that the RSS, which had “the least respect for country’s Constitution”, had a final say in deciding the prime ministerial candidate.

Dalits in Gujarat

Ms. Karat sought to know whether Mr. Modi represents Dalits, tribal people, or minorities. Questioning his “development model”, she said the fact that manual scavenging was still being practiced in Gujarat was a testimony to the condition of Dalits. Sex determination was still active in so called “developed” Gujarat and one-third of the child population still suffers from malnutrition, she added.

She said that the wounds of 2002 had not healed and minorities would not forget the pogrom unleashed by Mr. Modi. “They will not rest till they get justice by sending those responsible for the post-Godhra incidents to jail,” she said.

The Congress, on the other hand, Ms. Karat said was obeying the diktats of imperialist forces and there was no protection for Dalits, tribal people and minorities under the present dispensation. Atrocities on women were on the rise and prices of essential commodities were spiralling, making life miserable.

Attacking both the Congress and the BJP on similar lines D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, stressed the need for alternative political combine.

“There was no difference between economic and foreign policies pursued by both the Congress-led and the BJP-led governments,” he said.

Attacking the RSS, he said it was antithetical to the Constitution and favoured a “monolithic, medieval order” to achieve its agenda. “It has a sinister design to subvert parliamentary democracy,” he said.

(courtesy : the Hindu)