BJP trying to fan communal passions, alleges CPI(M)

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, instead of talking about Polavaram project and row over move to privatise VSP, spoke about Article 370 and Ram Temple, says Lokanadham

The Anakapalli District Committee of the CPI(M) has taken exception to the statements of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his election campaign in Anakapalli on Wednesday.

In a statement on Thursday, CPI(M) Anakapalli district committee secretary K. Lokanadham said that instead of talking about the development plans and agenda of the BJP, it was unfortunate that the Defence Minister spoke about abolition of Article 370 and Ram Temple.

Ignoring issues pertaining to Andhra Pradesh like sanction of funds for the Polavaram project, withdrawal of the decision on privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), allocation of captive mines to VSP, Mr. Rajnath Singh spoke on implementation of ‘One nation, one election’ if the party was voted to power again. The CPI(M) leader alleged that the Defence Minister’s statements on Article 370 were tantamount to violation of democratic rights.

‘Defeat C.M. Ramesh’

Alleging that the BJP was trying to fan communal passions to gain political mileage in the ensuing general elections, he called upon the people to see through the game plan of the BJP and defeat the BJP-TDP-JSP alliance candidate C.M. Ramesh.

He also deplored the main opposition parties for indulging in personal attacks and mudslinging, instead of telling the public about their development plans and placing their agendas before the voters.

Mr. Lokanadham described the arrest of steel plant workers, ahead of the visit of the Defence Minister, as an undemocratic act. It indicated the attitude of the Union Minister towards the people of the region. He also said that the statement of the Union Minister that Mr. Ramesh could stop privatisation of VSP was nothing but cheating the people of Visakhapatnam.

If the Union Minister was truly committed to protecting the VSP, he should ask the Prime Minister to make a statement on withdrawal of the decision on strategic sale of VSP and allocation of captive mines to the plant, he said.

The CPI(M) leader also deplored the repeated announcement of Mr. Ramesh that Mutyala Naidu, who translated the speech of Mr. Rajnath Singh, did not know proper English, was an insult to the people of Anakapalli district. He called upon the voters to defeat Mr. Ramesh, a “migratory bird who came from another district.”