Modi govt taking dangerous steps, would be dethroned in 2019: Andhra Pradesh FM

Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu today said the Narendra Modi government was taking "dangerous steps" against constitutional values and that it would be "dethroned by united regional parties" in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He also said that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP veteran L K Advani respected the Constitution, but Modi and party chief Amit Shah were "destroying the democratic system" in the country.

"The Modi government's policies are against secularism. The ruling party uses RSS cadres, who have a fascist mentality. It is also spoiling fiscal and political values," he alleged.

"There's no democratic system under the Modi government. We respected Vajpayee and Advani who revered and protected the Constitution. But then came the Modi-Shah duo. They destroyed the entire democratic system," the minister alleged.

The Centre is interfering in the working of the 15th Finance Commission, he told reporters on the sidelines of "Mahanadu", the three-day annual conclave of the TDP here.

Ramakrishnudu alleged that the Modi government was taking "dangerous steps against constitutional values and the TDP will unite all regional parties to stop it in 2019".

The BJP government would be "dethroned" by an amalgamation of regional parties, he said, but parried a query on who would be the prime ministerial face if a united front comes into being.

"That will be taken care of later," the TDP politburo member said.

He also alleged that the Modi government was "dropping all centrally sponsored schemes in the middle" and "threatening" the Centre-state relations.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had on Sunday said that Modi was a "campaign PM who has failed to deliver on promises" and the BJP would "definitely" not remain in power after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress too would not be able to form the next government on its own and stressed that regional parties had "able and capable leaders" who would play important roles after the polls, the TDP chief had said.

His remarks came a few days after he shared the stage with leaders of several regional parties at the swearing-in of H D Kumaraswamy as chief minister of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka.