CPI (M) Politburo member Prakash Karat on Saturday said if Narendra Modi and the BJP came back to power India, would not remain a democracy, and the upcoming Lok Sabha election would determine the future of the country.
Speaking at a public meeting in Madurai in support of party candidate for the Lok Sabha Constituency Su. Venkatesan, he said the BJP was targeting opposition leaders in the run-up to the elections. Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren were arrested. Even as the election campaign was going on, the opposition leaders were being targeted by the Central agencies.
The BJP was not fighting the opposition in a democratic manner, but was suppressing them, Mr. Karat said, referring to the Income Tax Department freezing the Congress’ bank accounts and serving notices on the party. In Kerala, the IT Department had frozen the CPI(M)’s bank account in Thrissur district, he said, adding that the BJP was trying to cripple the opposition through Central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and the IT Department.
