Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury addressing a public meeting marking the conclusion of the Statewide Janakeeya Prathirodha Yatra led by party State secretary M.V. Govindan in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) branding those who raise questions against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adani Group head Gautam Adani as anti-national, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury questioned the Union government’s reluctance to agree to the Opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into alleged irregularities in the corporate group.
He was speaking at a public meeting marking the conclusion of the Statewide Janakeeya Prathirodha Yatra led by CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan here on Saturday.
“In the days of Emergency, we heard the slogan of Indira is India and India is Indira. Today, Modi is giving us the slogan of Modi-Adani are India and India is Modi-Adani. The people of India will give them a fitting reply, as they had given Indira Gandhi back then with the removal of the government from office. Questioning the government of the day is the duty of every Indian patriot. This dangerous equation has to be defeated. On the one hand, their government says nothing is wrong with the dealings of the Adani group. Yet, they are not allowing the JPC, because they have a lot to hide,” Mr. Yechury said.
“When the BJP was in Opposition, Parliament was stalled for an entire session to demand a JPC for the 2G scam, which was constituted. Each JPC has given recommendations that were helpful for the system,” said Mr. Yechury.
He said the communal-corporate nexus that had emerged under the Modi government was destroying the four pillars of the country’s Constitutional order — secular democracy, economic self sovereignty, social justice, and federalism. The worst form of crony capitalism had been unleashed, as exemplified by the Adani scam.
“The government is now using various agencies to target and intimidate Opposition leaders. Since 2014, more than 3,554 cases have been filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Of these, only 23 received convictions in court. Miraculously, the cases against those leaders who join the BJP vanish immediately. The BJP has found a new principle in democracy that whoever wins the elections, the BJP will form the government,” he said.
