With the leaders of the INDIA bloc of parties set to have their fourth meeting in Delhi on December 19, Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury does not see any major contradictions arising within the alliance due to the recent results of the Assembly elections in five States.
Also read: Not BJP’s victory but Congress’s failure, says Trinamool
Responding to a question from The Hindu after delivering the first P. Ramamurthi Memorial Lecture in Chennai on Thursday, he said the INDIA bloc was clear in its focus on jointly defeating the BJP in the 2024 parliamentary elections. “That is what we will be working on. There will be some questions. Many will naturally feel that Congress should have responded better (in the recent Assembly polls),” he said, adding that those issues will however, will not lead to any serious contradictions.
In his lecture, he said the BJP’s victory in the recent election to the State Assemblies should not be a concern for the 2024 Parliamentary elections as there need not be any correlation between the two. He pointed out the BJP registered victories in these same States in 2003 but went on to lose power at the Centre in 2004. Similarly, he said though Congress won the same States in 2018, it could not come to power in the 2019 general elections.
‘No BJP MP from Tamil Nadu in 2024’
Highlighting that Tamil Nadu has shown the way in the past in defeating the BJP, he expressed hope that the State will not return any MPs for the party in the 2024 elections as well.
According to him, the BJP had to be removed from the government since it was using the State power to further its agenda of converting India from a democratic, secular republic to a fascist, Hindutva state.
He charged one of the strategies adopted by the BJP was to dismantle the federal structure and have a unitary control of the country from the Centre. Expressing concern over the recent judgement of the Supreme Court, upholding Union government’s abrogation of article 370, he said this could mean that a party with a simple majority in the Parliament can divide any State and even reduce them to union territories.
Mr. Yechury said everyone should resolve to safeguard the secular, diverse and democratic India, for which communist leaders like P. Ramamurthi made enormous sacrifices.
CPI(M) leaders K. Balakrishnan and T.K. Rangarajan also spoke on the life and contributions of Ramamurthi. A short biography on Ramamurthi, penned by K. Ramesh, was released by Mr. Yechury. Senior advocate R. Vaigai received the first copy.
