Yechury claimed that there is huge potential for secular forces in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but the impediment lies in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal. "The BJP was given the opportunity to gain a foothold in West Bengal by the TMC," he said, reiterating the CPI(M)'s allegation against the ruling party in the state.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury called for bringing together non-political forces including environment and Dalit activists along with secular regional parties to defeat propagators of the “Hindutva Rashtra”. He said that efforts should be made to defeat the BJP first at the state level and after that, a national alternative will be formed.
"People's movements on various issues, like Dalit movements, environment and climate change have to be brought together, thus strengthening Left and democratic forces," he said. The CPI(M) leader said that it is necessary to bring together secular parties, apart from these movements, to "defeat the poison of communalism".
This "broad platform" needs to be strengthened to defeat the “Hindutva Rashtra propagators”. Holding that some regional parties are consistently fighting against communal forces, he said that they need to be brought together. "This has to be done at the state level first to create an alternative (to the BJP)," he said at a programme here on Monday to mark the 103rd foundation day of the Communist Party of India.
Yechury claimed that there is huge potential for secular forces in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, but the impediment lies in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal. "The BJP was given the opportunity to gain a foothold in West Bengal by the TMC," he said, reiterating the CPI(M)'s allegation against the ruling party in the state.
He asserted that it is for the Communist party and the Leftists to take on attempts to spread communal hatred in policies, decision-making and at the political level. "For that, the strength of Communists and other Leftists have to be increased," he said.
Giving examples of 1996 and 2004 when the United Front and UPA governments were formed respectively, he claimed that a similar alternative will come up after the 2024 general elections. "In order to save and then change India, we have to ensure that the BJP does not remain in control of the central government and the states," the CPI(M) leader said.
Yechury alleged that everything from airports to seaports is being sold off in the country to the private sector. "There is no global index in which India's position has not come down in the last eight years," he said, alleging that unemployment is the highest ever in the country.
Yechury alleged that the BJP government at the Centre has been misusing central agencies to further its political ambitions. Claiming that the agencies are being used to silence the opposition, the CPI(M) general secretary described it as an attack on democracy. The country is being turned into a “surveillance state”, he alleged.
(With PTI inputs)