People of India Desire To See Modi Government’s Defeat: Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the people of the country desire to see the defeat of the BJP government at the Centre. However, achieving this goal will require the cooperation of all secular and democratic parties. To make it a reality, non-BJP parties must come together, adopt a realistic approach, and put their differences aside. 

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on the eve of Kerala's protest against the Centre's neglect of the state in Jantar Mantar on Thursday, the chief minister said a majority of the people of the country want the BJP government to go.

"If the BJP continues in power then the country will land in a grave situation. Secularism, federalism, and plurality will come under serious threat. The damage will be irreversible hence the BJP government has to be prevented from returning to power," he said. The chief minister blamed the lack of patience on the part of Congress for the recent defeat in assembly elections in some states. Alliances need to be forged between all secular parties and non-BJP forces in each state considering the ground realities. 

Instead of making false claims and imposing the will of individual parties on others, the non-BJP parties need to adopt a more accommodative approach. Only such accommodations and adjustments can ensure the defeat of the BJP, he said.

Pinarayi said non-BJP parties should have a realistic approach in each state and they should be prepared to accommodate each other. The chief minister said a large



section of people were at the receiving end because of the BJP government's policies. This was evident from the protests emerging from the governments of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Delhi, and Punjab. "The state governments can come on a common platform since there are many areas where a consensus can be evolved," he said.

When asked whether such a unity would pave the way for the north-south divide, Pinarayi said these issues are related to the powers of state governments being ruthlessly slashed by the Centre. The unity is for defeating the attacks on the federal structure of the country. Pinarayi hailed the support extended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivkumar to the dharna.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues will stage a protest dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on February 8 against the central government’s `stepmotherly’ treatment towards Kerala. Ministers, MPs, and MLAs mainly belonging to the ruling LDF will take part in the protest. “It’s an unprecedented agitation against the central government's policy of destroying the federal values enshrined in the Constitution and obstructing the development of Kerala through economic blockade,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The dharna will begin at 11 am o February 8. The opposition Congress-led UDF is not participating in the dharna as it believes the state government is also equally responsible for the present financial crisis in Kerala.