The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
Congress must introspect on its political stance: Yechury
Left Democratic Front and CPI(M) have been the most consistent opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress has wavered in its ght against BJP, the veteran leader says
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] general secretary Sitaram Yechury has said the Left front and the CPI(M) have been the “most consistent opposition” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the other hand, the Congress that has wavered in its ght against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accusing the Left of collaborating with the ruling party at the Centre for electoral opportunism, Mr. Yechury said.
Addressing a Left Democratic Front (LDF) rally in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, Mr. Yechury urged the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) to introspect upon its political stance in combating communal forces.
Reply to Rahul
In an apparent response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “demand” to arrest Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Mr. Yechury said, “They are inviting Narendra Modi to harass and arrest the Chief Minister of
Kerala. As far as arrests are concerned, remember Indira Gandhi arrested all of us including Pinarayi Vijayan. He was jailed and tortured. We are not afraid of being arrested. Many of our comrades had been martyred while in jail.”
Dig at Congress
Mr. Yechury said that those who feared arrests have been leaving the Congress to join the BJP.
The former Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir are among those who left the party, he pointed out, referring to Ashok Chavan and Ghulam Nabi Azad respectively.
Mr. Yechury blamed the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s policies for worsening economic inequalities in the country.
Rich-poor divide
“The poor are becoming poorer and the rich richer. The combined wealth of the top 10 richest persons have increased by 22%, while that of the bottomhalf of the population has decreased by 13% last year. These are the two Indias that Modi has created. One, for the corporate, communal and Hindutva nexus, and the other for the rest of the Indians who are pushed to misery,” Mr. Yechury said.
The policies of NDA, he said, have also paved the way for the highest level of unemployment in the country since Independence. “A total of 42% of graduates in India are unemployed. Yesterday, the three biggest IT rms in India have declared that at least 1 lakh IT professionals will be retrenched because there is no market. With growing unemployment and in¡ation, the real wages of the people have stagnated in the last 10 years. The Central government’s statistics itself have revealed that household savings have reached rock bottom of less than 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the rst time ever since Independence,” Mr. Yechury added.