Journalism of Courage
A day after drawing a parallel with Adolf Hitler to his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said democratic forces should unite “as much as possible” to defeat fascist forces.
The JD(U) leader said this while attending a conference for anti-communal where he shared the stage with Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
A week earlier,JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury had announced the ‘Convention Against Communalism and For Unity of People’,in which four Left parties alongside AIADMK,JD(U),SP,BJD,NCP,JD(S),Naga People’s Front,Sikkim Democratic Front,Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and RPI (Prakash Ambedkar) were to participate on October 30.
The said agenda of the convention was to bring together all non-Congress,non-BJP parties,who are against price rise and corruption of the present government and communalism“,while Yechury said the main objective was to “safeguard our secular and democratic foundations which are undergoing strain at this moment.”
The convention also enlisted as non-political participants of the calibre of film maker Shyam Benegal,Gnanpeeth awardee U R Ananthamurthi,leading danseuse Mallika Sarabhai and eminent historian Irfan Habib.
On whether the parties to the convention were planning to form an electoral coalition ahead of the 2014 General Elections,there was no word.
Allies until JD(U) broke away from the coalition with BJP,Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi have started a bitter war of words which in recent times have veered beyond the political and ventured into the personal.
On Tuesday,addressing a JD(U) convention,Nitish Kumar coldly criticised Modi for his ‘fascist’ policies. “You (Modi) are telling people ‘chun chun ke saaf karo’ (wipe them out one by one). You can win by getting votes,not by wiping them out… It is not just dictatorship,it is fascism,and those who believe in fascism,their icon is Hitler. They will do what Hitler did… The language of fascism will not work in a democracy,” Kumar had said.
Narendra Modi had earlier tore into Kumar at his Bihar rally for snapping ties with the BJP,terming the Bihar a political opportunist who had also left Jayprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia.
“People ask me why my friend left BJP. I tell them those who can stab guru Jayprakash Narayan and socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia in the back can easily leave long-time friend BJP,” Modi had told a rally in Patna,vowing to oust JD(U) which had quit NDA in opposition with Modi’s elevation as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate.
Kumar had taken severe exception to Modi’s accusations,and said that he had never back-stabbed Lohia and Narayan. “When have I deserted JP’s ideology? … Lohia brought parties together to fight the Congress. BJP is walking its own path alone. Where is the comparison?” he had questioned.
Kumar had also accused Modi of fabricating facts and politicisng history,making use of historical characters and events as he wished to build support and momentum for his election campaign.
