The Communist Party of India has expressed concern over the involvement of the members of Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the violent incident at Sabarimala in Kerala.
CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy alleged that the BJP-led NDA government was behind the disturbances in Sabarimala. The BJP and the Sangh Parivar were working against the Supreme Court and the Constitution as could be seen from the developments in the pilgrimage centre. The Central government adopted “double standards” in the Sabarimala issue and was trying to utilise the developments for electoral gains.
He said women were waging a democratic struggle for gender equality in Sabarimala where there was entry for women in the past. “There should be equal right to women in all fields,” he said. Mr. Sudhakar Reddy extended his party's support to the strike by the trade unions on January 8 and 9 in protest against the “anti-people and anti-worker policies” of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Central government. He launched a trenchant attack on the Prime Minister for not lending a patient ear to the problems faced by people. The commitment of Mr. Modi to provide transparent governance could be seen from his refusal to constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Rafale deal.
The initiatives like demonetisation launched by the Central government had failed to yield desired results and the exercise was aimed at serving the interests of the rich helping them convert their black money to white, he said calling upon the people to teach a fitting lesson to the BJP government in the coming elections.
CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was diluting the rights of the backward classes as could be seen from the reduction of reservations in the forthcoming Panchayat Raj elections. While the members of the BC communities were on a war-path against the government’s decision to slash their quota, the Chief Minister was maintaining silence on the issue.
