NDA misusing institutions, needs to be removed: Deve Gowda

It is the responsibility of all secular leaders to rally together and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in coming Lok Sabha polls for allegedly misusing the government institutions, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) chief H. D. Deve Gowda said here on Thursday.

"It is the responsibility of all secular leaders to rally together and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government the coming Lok Sabha elections for misusing the national institutions," he said, while addressing mediapersons after meeting Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

"The NDA rule, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi Sahab has created so many problems, including destabalising certain constitutionally created institutes. Now, it is the responsibility of all secular parties, including the Congress, to come together to replace the NDA government," he said. He also lauded Naidu for his efforts in taking up the matter with the heads of other regional parties and bringing them together for their common goal of prevailing over the NDA government.

"AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Ji has taken the lead and met Rahul Gandhi and other regional leaders, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, Mayawati, Mamta Banerjee, and our neighbouring state's Mr Stalin. Including me, he has contacted (all regional leaders) several times. He is doing his best to consolidate all secular parties to come together remove the NDA government's rule in 2019," the former prime minister said.

He also called for cooperation from the Congress, saying that the latter has a great responsibility on its shoulder to discharge, adding that despite being beaten by the BJP in 17 states, the Congress remains very strong.

Meanwhile, Naidu underscored the importance of "saving the nation" and the democracy from the BJP's rule, accusing the latter of abusing national institutions for harassing opposition leaders.

"We want to save this nation; we want to save democracy. If we see today, all institutions have been destroyed. CBI, the premier institution for investigating corruption, is in trouble. Even the RBI, an autonomous, regulatory body is under threat. ED, Income Tax Department are being abused by the ruling dispensation for controlling the opposition," Naidu said.

The AP Chief Minister also took a potshot at the BJP over demonetisation and rising fuel prices, saying that the BJP's decisions have left the economy in the doldrums. Naidu, however, did not speak decisively about the prime ministerial candidate from the opposition parties, saying that they would sort it out together, stressing that their first priority was to "save democracy, save the nation."

Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy expressed delight over the people's decision to vote for the Congress-JD-Secular alliance in the recently concluded by-polls in the state, adding that now the opposition wants to unite to dethrone the NDA government at the Centre.

"The main objective of ours is to save the nation. The opposition wants to bring about a new alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. We are in touch with several regional parties. All are happy with the by-poll results from Karnataka. Now all want to unite against the NDA government and fight together," Kumaraswamy said.

He also expressed confidence in a repeat of the united opposition's victory in the 1996 General Elections, when his father H.D. Deve Gowda had become the Prime Minister, in the General Elections next year.

"Chandrababu Ji and Deve Gowda Ji's political arithmetic is good; they are old friends. After Chandrababu's entry into Delhi politics once again, I think 1996 will be repeated in 2019," Kumaraswamy said.