The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has legalised corruption, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Politburo member Brinda Karat has said.
Ms. Karat was speaking on 2024 polls: the challenges faced by the democracy at the 6th remembrance meeting of the founding director of Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) T.R. Chandradutt at Kerala Sahitya Akademi hall here on Wednesday.
“The BJP received ₹7,000 crore through electoral bonds. The country has never seen corruption at this level. The Narendra Modi government took huge amounts from corporates after giving them contracts. They used Directorate of Enforcement (ED) raids to threaten companies who refused to surrender to their interests,” she said.
The BJP government is leading anti-democratic activities without respecting the court orders. Mr. Modi who is speaking about ‘Nari Sakthi’ everywhere is silent about violence against women in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, and other States, she said.
Criticising mainstream media, she said they are hiding real issues faced by the country under the influence of the Modi government. The Modi government is destabilising democratic institutions, she said. She expressed hope that people will give a fitting replay to the anti-democratic policies of the BJP government in the coming election.
Guruvayur Devaswom chairman V.K. Vijayan presided over. Kalady Sree Sanakaracharya Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor M.V. Narayanan spoke about the impact of right-wing policies in the higher education sector. “There are efforts to destroy democracy and secularism in the higher education sector,” he said.
COSTFORD Director M.N. Sudhakaran and joint director P.B. Sajan also spoke.
