Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Constitution of India was at stake. Its core values were secularism and federalism, which were under threat. Perhaps it was the last opportunity for voters to stop the country from backsliding into a Hindu majoritarian and anti-minority electoral autocracy.
Mr. Vijayan said a third consecutive term for the BJP would have grim consequences for the country’s secular and federal fabric.
He recounted how the Sangh Parivar had systematically denied space for the political opposition, independent media and academia by weaponising tax and law enforcement agencies to stifle dissent.
Mr. Vijayan said the government had misused anti-money laundering and anti-terror laws to chill civil society. It subverted constitutional agencies to arm-twist rivals into defecting to the BJP. It has legitimised the centralisation of administrative and fiscal authority by trespassing on the founding principle of federalism.
Mr. Vijayan said the BJP had used its electoral majority to muscle contentious bills, including the CAA, through the Parliament with little deliberation. Civil liberties were under threat under the BJP. The Sangh Parivar has demonised Muslims repeatedly and promoted anti-minority laws.
The BJP has deliberately infused religion into Statecraft. He highlighted the attacks on Christians in BJP-ruled States, including Manipur.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the Lok Sabha polls would decide India’s future as a secular, democratic and federal polity. He said the Congress was the best bet against the BJP’s drift to authoritarianism.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visceral fear of defeat had fuelled his polarising political messaging, casting Muslims as infiltrators out to loot the country’s wealth and the gold of women.
Mr. Satheesan said Sangh Parivar had attacked Christians and vandalised churches in BJP-ruled States, including in Manipur. When Mr. Modi turned his back on Manipur, Rahul Gandhi visited the State to unite and heal the ethnic strife-torn territory.
He said April 26, the Election Day, was the death anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, who the BJP jailed and killed the 87-year-old priest on false charges.
