Brinda Karat, Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s politburo member, lashed out at the Narendra Modi government on Thursday, accusing it of divisive politics.
She was addressing a public meeting in Juhu gully while campaigning for party candidate Narayanan Kiddapil, who is contesting from Andheri West. With the backing of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, Mr. Kiddapil will be taking on sitting BJP MLA Amit Satam and Ashok Jadhav of the Congress. CPI(M) Central Committee member Mahinder Singh and veteran CPI leader Charul Joshi were present at the meeting.
Ms. Karat called the withdrawal of Article 370 a threat to the Constitution. She said, “It has been 100 years since our party started the fight for communism, secularism and independence. But institutions like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have aimed at the division of the country. The Modi government wants to divide us on the basis of religion. They think of Kashmiris as their enemies and want to change their demographics.”
She said parties like the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen are no better than the BJP as they also infuse religion with politics. She said, “There is a frog-like tendency in politics today. Leaders keep jumping from one party to another. No one thinks about the development of people.”
Mr. Kiddapil accused the BJP government of making false promises regarding the rehabilitation of slum dwellers in Juhu gully. He said, “What has Amit Satam done? He should go to the transit camps. The people there are in the worst conditions. They don’t even have access to basic amenities like water. I have been fighting over the water problem for years now.” He spoke about the party’s efforts to provide free education to poor children.
“Earlier, the people here felt ashamed to admit their children into schools. They felt they didn’t deserve a good education. Today, 60,000 students from the area attend schools. We have also provided school van services to them,” Mr Kidappil said.
