Sitaram Yechuri
CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechuri addressing the media. Image - Northeast Now

To fight against the BJP-RSS forces and in the light of the political situation in different States, the Communist Party of India (Marxists) is going to adopt ‘appropriate electoral tactics to maximize the anti-BJP votes’, said party general secretary Sitaram Yechuri.

Yechuri said this while speaking to reporters after a meeting with CPI-M’s central committee members of Tripura where they discussed the ongoing political scenario in Tripura after the BJP-IPFT coming to power following long 25 years’ Left rule in the State.

“Our main slogan is to ‘save the country, defeat BJP’. But in West Bengal, it will be ‘save Bengal, defeat Trinamool Congress’ and in Tamil Nadu it will be ‘save Tamil Nadu, defeat AIADMK’,” said the former parliamentarian.

He informed that the Left parties will hold a protest on July 24 outside the Parliament in Delhi against the ‘murder of democracy in West Bengal and Tripura’, CPI-M general secretary Yechuri said here on Sunday.

“The RSS and BJP are patronizing the atmosphere of fear and violence, so the central committee of the CPI-M has decided that the party will organise a national protest in front of the Parliament when the Parliament session begins. This will be organised by the Left parties together against the murder of democracy in Tripura and West Bengal. This programme will be held on July 24 outside the Parliament. This is to draw the attention of the entire country to show what is happening here in Tripura and West Bengal,” Yechuri told the media.

Yechuri also said, “All of our party wings and units in the States will also organise protest programmes. This is our national issue, particularly when the BJP, RSS, all the ministers and the Prime Minister are talking about the fight against the Indira Gandhi’s Emergency and how democracy was curtailed during that period but here we see the murder of democracy.”

“Besides, hundreds of Left party offices were bulldozed, thousands of houses belonging to Left supporters and leaders have been attacked or burnt down, and hundreds of leftists have been attacked by the ruling party cadres,” he alleged.

The CPI-M politburo member also alleged, hate and violence are spreading across the country and appealed to all the secular and democratic forces to come together and ensure that the unity and social fabric in India is not disrupted.

Terming the Government’s recent announcement of Minimum Support Price for certain crops as ‘fraudulent actions’, the CPI-M leader said the Government should follow the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations on MSP.

He said the alleged fraud in minimum support price for the farmers would be exposed through struggles of the peasants. He also said, “Even now, there is no guarantee that the Government agencies will buy the crops at this price”.

“The BJP and RSS are trying to get political mileage and electoral victory through communal polarisation in the country and I apprehend they may use the Kashmir issue for this,” said Yechuri.

“They are trying to keep the situation in Jammu and Kashmir volatile for political gain. It was expected that during the Governor’s Rule, the situation will improve but it has remained as it was earlier. Three persons, including a young girl, were killed just two days back. But the first step against stone pelting is firing which is not justified,” the CPI-M leader said.

Pinaki Das is Northeast Now Correspondent in Agartala. He can be reached at: [email protected]