New Delhi, March 31: Top leaders of the INDIA bloc on Sunday exhorted the people to defeat the BJP to save democracy and the Constitution and alleged that the opposition has been deprived of a level playing field in the Lok Sabha elections due to the government’s “dictatorial” actions.
Coming together at the ‘Loktantra Bachao’ (Save Democracy) rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital, the first such show of strength by the opposition after the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, the leaders of 18 major parties gave a fervent call for unity among the alliance partners in national interest.
The public meeting was aimed at highlighting the issue of “attack on democracy” including the alleged misuse of agencies against opposition leaders in the aftermath of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and income tax notices to parties.
Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and JMM leader Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren also addressed the gathering, lashing out at the central government over the arrest of their husbands in corruption cases.
Reading out a message from Arvind Kejriwal, Sunita Kejriwal told the gathering that they should keep alive the “dream of India which can provide education and health care for all irrespective of whether they are rich or poor.. If you give an opportunity to the INDIA bloc, we will build a great nation.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the RSS-BJP combine as “poison” that has “destroyed” the country, and called on all opposition parties to unite to defeat the ruling party in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
“The BJP and the RSS are like poison, don’t taste it as it may prove fatal. They have destroyed the country and they should not be allowed to destroy it further,” the Congress chief said RJD leader and former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav also accused PM Modi of ‘match-fixing’ and urged people to vote out the BJP.
He said PM Modi’s guarantee is like Chinese goods and is only meant for polls, as he urged people not to fall for the BJP’s “propaganda” in the Lok Sabha polls.
“We are not going to be cowed down by their threats. Only a lion is locked up. We are lions and we also never shy away from struggle,” Yadav said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin said it is only through unity that the opposition can defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and oust the “fascist” BJP to form a federal India.
In his message read out by DMK leader Tiruchi Siva, he said the arrest of Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal shows the BJP’s “growing desperation in the face of imminent defeat”.
The other leaders who attended the rally included former Congress president Sonia Gandhi; AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NC leader Farooq Abdullah, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Dipankar Bhattacharya; and TMC’s Derek O’Brien.
In his address, Uddhav Thackeray alleged the country has become an “autocracy” under the Modi government, and appealed to the people to throw the BJP out of power.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav urged the people to vote against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls if they wanted to save democracy in the country.
He also asked why the BJP is misusing agencies against the opposition if it is confident of crossing the 400-seat mark in the upcoming polls.
Addressing the rally, Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, who took charge after Hemant Soren’s resignation ahead of his arrest, said BJP’s autocracy and its ideology will not be allowed to flourish. “We are one… we will not allow the ideology and autocracy of BJP to flourish in this country…We are together to save democracy,” he added.
NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar hit out at the Modi government, saying the arrest of Soren and Kejriwal is an attack on the democracy and Constitution of the country.
TMC’s Derek O’Brien, whose party is going it alone in West Bengal, said, “All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) is very much was, is and will be part of the INDIA alliance.” CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “Today a new energy has been created in Indian politics, which will make Indian democracy win and autocracy lose…” Yechury said.
“The country is facing a calamity, a big calamity, and we have to save our country,” said CPI general secretary D Raja. (PTI)
