CPM flays ‘competitive communalism’ of BJP, TMC

Kolkata: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mein Bhi Chowkidar’ (I too am a watchman) campaign, accusing him of “blatant” politicisation of the sacrifices made by the armed forces in return for gaining votes.

It also alleged that the BJP and the TMC were “mutually feeding” each other and involved in “competitive communalism”, something that is going to “erase any space for democratic civil activity.”
“After the surgical strikes took place, the Prime Minister claimed he is the ‘chowkidar’ of the land.

After Balakot (air strike), he said he is ‘chowkidar’ of the sky. After the A-SAT test, the PM has graduated himself from land to outer space. Now, he calls himself ‘chowkidar’ of the outer space,” CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters here.

“We have a request. Let the Prime Minister remain in space and look after our planet Earth, while you leave India to us so that we can save the country,” He said.

Accusing the BJP of repeatedly violating the Model Code of Conduct, Yechury said, “The EC came down finally on the biopic of PM Modi and Namo Channel after repeated requests. The way the Prime Minister himself invokes the armed forces and their sacrifices is blatant politicisation and he is asking first-generation voters to vote for his party on behalf of the Air Force who conducted the Balakot air strike.”

Continuing his tirade against the BJP, Yechury claimed that the Modi government was going “ground deeper” in indulging in corruption and cronyism, adding that the people will vote on the basis of day-to-day experiences they witnessed in the last five years.

Alleging that the BJP and Trinamool Congress were involved in “competitive communalism”, Yechury said, “This Baishakhi is being observed as a mark of respect of the centenary Jallianwala Bagh massacre all over the country. One would have expected that people would be mobilised in Bengal for such an important event because this incident symbolised a certain unity among the Indian public. So this is absolutely important in today’s context.”

“Unfortunately it has been missed out and Bengal has more of Ram Navami (celebrations) now and the competitive communalism that is taking place between the BJP and Trinamool. There is a sort of a mutual feeding each other between the Trinamool and BJP. This is a very ominous sign for Bengal because this sort of competitive communalism is something that is going to erase any space for democratic civil activity,” he added.

Alleging that there was a “tacit understanding” between TMC and BJP, Yechury said that voting for either of the two parties would be “counter-productive”.

“I would not be surprised to see some degree of tacit understanding between the two. So our appeal to the people is to that this is something they must guard against. A vote to either of them to defeat either is actually helping the other. The feeling that your vote to Trinamool to vote the BJP and vice versa is actually going to strengthen them. It is absolutely counter-productive,” he said.

“We are appealing to Bengal, the BJP is to be defeated to save India, TMC to save Bengal, the only constituent force in this background is the CPM and Left,” Yechury added.

Terming the ongoing Lok Sabha elections as “crucial”, he said that the outcome will determine whether India will remain a democratic and republic nation as enshrined in the Constitution or not.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]