“THE countdown of BJP has begun. It has failed to solve the problems of the common man, hence as the elections come nearer, the BJP starts chanting the temple issue. They do not even have the patience to wait for the Supreme Court decision.” This was stated by Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the CPI(M) addressing the ‘meet the press’ programme at Raipur Press Club in Chattisgarh.

He said in the last four and half years of the BJP rule, the policies of neoliberalism have been aggressively pursued, which has led to severe economic attacks on the common people. More than 50,000 kisans have committed suicide. The kisans were not provided remunerative prices for their crops. Instead of providing relief to the kisans from the debt, the BJP has written-off the debt of big corporates, who are refusing to repay loan of Rs 11.5 lakh crore taken from public sector banks. The common man has been fleeced by increasing the prices of petrol and diesel. Privatisation of health and education services has severely affected the livelihood of the people in the country.

Attacks on tribals, dalits and minorities are rising across the country. Now even the constitutional institutions are getting targeted. There are efforts to curtail the autonomy of judiciary, reserve bank and the CBI. Even the basic right of the people to organise and protest against such atrocities is not secure and the people are threatened by the present regime.

He said the third attack on the people is that of massive corruption led by the BJP. Both the central and state governments led by BJP are completely drenched in corruption. The latest example is that of Rafale deal, where not just large scale corruption has come to the fore, but it is also a compromise with national security. Had the Modi government been honest, it would not have desisted from holding a joint parliamentary committee probe in which majority of the members in any way would have been from the BJP.

The BJP government is completely bending its knees in front of the US. In order to continue the import of oil from Iran it has agreed the condition to buy weapons worth thousands of crores from the US.

The CPI(M) leader further stated that the government which failed to provide solutions to the problems of the people is resorting to communal polarisation. They have shifted their earlier stance to respect the court’s judgement on the Ayodhya issue to bringing an ordinance for the construction of Ram temple. The CPI(M), he said,  has taken as its task to defeat the BJP and its allies, increase the strength of Left in the parliament and to form a secular alternative government at the centre so that the constitution, democracy and secularism can be protected and the struggle for social justice can be further consolidated.

He stressed that in the five states that are going to polls, the countdown of BJP has begun and even in Chhattisgarh the BJP will be defeated. Because of the policies of the BJP, every section of the society is angry. In this state, every year over 2,000 kisans commit suicide. The government had promised to pay a minimum support price of Rs 2,400 per quintal for paddy, but till date it is not provided. Under MNREGA, it had promised 200 days of work but the government statistics reveal that just 35 days average work per person per year is provided and during last year, payments to the workers of over Rs 300 crore have not been cleared. Movements of all sections of the people were subjected to severe repression.

Answering the questions of the news reporters, he said the Left parties will not contest against each other and that they want Left representatives to get elected so that they can raise the voice of the people in the assembly. He expressed hope that the CPI will openly declare support for the CPI(M) candidates.

Yechury, in one of the questions rejected the concept of ‘urban naxal’ and indicted the BJP government for depriving the tribals of their land and other democratic rights. He said those human rights activists who stood by the tribals were termed as ‘urban naxals’ and were politically victimised. He said many activists of the CPI(M) became martyrs fighting against naxalism. Despite an  ideological difference between the CPI(M) and the Maoists, there is a conspiracy at the behest of BJP to term CPI(M) and Maoists as synonyms. He said by fighting for the rights of the tribals and ensuring an end to their loot, and protecting their democratic rights, can the Maoists be fought. He also appealed to the Maoists to abdicate the path of violence and place their views in public.

In another reply, he said that the Sabrimala issue has been flared up by the BJP and it is not even respecting the Supreme Court judgement. It views the rights of women through its religious lens. The government of Kerala is implementing the decision of the SC. The stance of BJP has exposed their anti-women outlook. The people of Kerala recognise the character of BJP very well and they will be exposed thoroughly.