The threat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pushing its communal agenda to hide the Modi government’s failures to deliver on the promises of development is looming large, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said here on Tuesday.
Mr. Yechury was here for the first time after taking over the party reins last month, to attend a tribal rally in protest against the amended land acquisition Bill.
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Commenting on the one year of the Modi government, Mr. Yechury said the year only saw the government’s efforts to “pay back” its election sponsors by bringing the land Bill and other anti-people laws. This government had three faces — economic reforms to benefit the corporate world, communal vote-bank politics by the BJP and utter disrespect for the democratic functioning, he said.
“The government has not been able to bring in a single policy for the benefit of the people, which has given rise to discontent. It is possible that the communal politics of the BJP will be at play soon to distract from their failures,” he said.
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Acknowledging that the CPI(M) failed to make its presence felt in North India, Mr. Yechury said that opposing social repression, along with an agenda of economic freedom, was the CPI(M)’s top priority.
“Every well in every village must have a red flag flying high, which will be the sign against discrimination based on caste. This will be our mission for the future,” he said.
He said the party had taken up Dalit and tribal issues, which it would continue to do. “We need to build our strength by our struggle, and … bringing the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes into the mainstream is a major part of our struggle,” he said.
Reacting to the developments in West Bengal, Mr. Yechury said politics of terror had become institutionalised in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s rule.