Yechury to share stage with Cong leaders at Kumaraswamy swearing-in

Reflecting the new political line adopted by the CPI(M) to unite all "secular-democratic" forces to take on the BJP, its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury would share the stage with leaders of the Congress and other parties at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy.

Yechury, who has been personally invited by Kumaraswamy, would travel to Bengaluru to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

"The chief minister-elect, who had come to Delhi, spoke to me over the phone. I said there is no need for formality. He invited me to attend the swearing-in ceremony. I will attend it in Bengaluru on May 23," he told reporters today.

At the CPI(M) politburo meeting in Delhi today, the party encouraged Yechury to attend the ceremony.

"At our party Congress, we had adopted the political line of uniting all secular forces to defeat the BJP. There is no problem in Yechury sharing the stage with (leaders of) all secular forces, including the Congress," a senior leader said.

Reacting to BJP chief Amit Shah's remark that the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka was "unholy", Yechury said, "This kind of a coalition is what I would call a maturation of Indian democracy. Our social diversities are getting reflected in our politics," he said.

The Left leader criticised the BJP for "spreading false information" and said the country could see through what it was doing after losing elections.