Loot of natural resources, misery for poor pillars of Modi

Slamming the BJP-led government, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said it stands on the twin pillars of loot of natural resources and more misery for the poor.

Yechury also accused the Narendra Modi-led NDA government of trying to use the armed forces to polarise the elections in the face of its imminent defeat.

He said it is "quite evident" from the anger against the present dispensation at the grassroots that a secular democratic government will come to power after the elections.

"Recently, a report came out where it stated that bank loans of corporates worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore were waived off in the last five years. This only sums up from where the BJP is getting so much money in terms of electoral bonds.

"This Modi government rests on twin pillars of loot of natural resources, cronyism and more misery for poor and common masses," Yechury told reporters here.

Asking the Centre to reveal names of the corporate leaders whose loans have been written off, the senior CPI(M) leader said the Rafale deal with France was also a blatant example of "promoting crony capitalism".

Criticising Modi for seeking votes in the name of martyrs and the armed forces, he urged the Election Commission to act strongly against BJP's "despicable attempts".

"As the BJP is well aware that they are going to lose the elections, they are making last-ditch efforts to use the armed forces to polarise the voters. The EC should act against it and stop BJP's attempt to politicise the security forces," Yechury said.

He said the saffron party would face the same fate as in 2004, when it lost the general elections.

"We have full faith in Indian voters. In 2004 also, the BJP raised the issue of opposition being rudderless and they had Atal Bihari Vajpayee leading from the front. But, we had seen they were defeated and Manmohan Singh became the prime minister for the next 10 years.

"This time, too, the same thing is going to happen, a secular democratic government will come to power after the elections," he said.

Yechury added that the 2019 Lok Sabha election is the most crucial one in the history of Independent India, as the very future of the secular democratic republic, as enshrined in the Constitution, is at stake.