People of states which defeated BJP will teach turncoats a lesson, says Yechury

CPM's central committee vows to strengthen INDIA bloc, says focus is on finalising seat sharing, reaching out to people

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CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury (Exprses File Photo)

The central committee of the CPI(M) on Tuesday said the party will make all efforts to strengthen the INDIA bloc despite the JD(U) deserting the formation. After the three-day central committee meeting, party general secretary Sitaram Yechuri told the media that “the focus of the alliance is on completing the ongoing state-level talks on seat sharing at the earliest and then proceed to reach out to the people on the basis of core issues”.

He said despite the “blatant misuse of religious sentiments” generated around Ayodhya’s Ram Temple inauguration and the recent electoral victories, the BJP appears to be unsure of the outcome of the 2024 elections. “BJP has resorted to misuse of the ED and money power to engineer defections among the Opposition parties ruling in states and forging alliances with former rivals, hoping to improve its Lok Sabha electoral prospects. In Bihar, the JD(U) has set an inglorious record of the largest number of flip-flops. Nitish Kumar was sworn in for a record ninth time as the CM of Bihar; this time with BJP support. The people in these states, who had defeated the BJP, will teach such turncoats a lesson,’’ he said.

The CPI(M)’s central committee said the temple inauguration at Ayodhya has sounded the “death knell for secularism”, defined as the separation of religion from the state, administration and politics. “The whole programme was a state-sponsored event, which was a direct violation of the fundamental principle of governance of India, as reiterated by the Supreme Court that the State under the Constitution should have no religious affiliation or preference”. “This was an event directly aimed at political and electoral gains. It is planned to mobilise people to visit the temple from every state and Parliamentary constituency. This will continue till the end of March 2024,’’ said the party.

On CAA, the party said since December 2019, the Modi government has not framed the Rules under the Act. “Now, on the eve of general elections, it is pushing for its implementation with a view to further sharpen communal polarisation and hoping to reap electoral gains, particularly in eastern India,” it said.

Referring to the Kerala government’s standoff with Raj Bhavan, Yechuri said the Governor has “overstepped all boundaries with his constant political attacks on the elected state government and his grossly erratic behavior”. “The latest has been his sit-in on the road ostensibly to protest against a perfectly democratic and peaceful student demonstration. In an unprecedented fashion he sought and procured protection from Central security forces with the highest permissible security cover for himself. His statements like ‘beginning of the collapse of the Constitutional machinery’ are threats levelled against the state government, which will be rejected outright by the people of the state,’’ he said.

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