Modi government using 'Bharat' fearing opposition's alliance: Venugopal

Kasaragod: CPM state secretary M V Govindan's explanation that the Congress to BJP's vote to win in Puthuppally is just a justification of the losers, said Congress general secretary K C Venugopal.

When the Puthuppally byelection was declared, Govindan said it would be a referendum on the LDF government's performance. "After the election, he is coming up with incredulous explanations," said Venugopal.

The victory proved Congress has a strong rank and file in Kerala. "It worked like well-oiled machinery," he said.

Venugopal was speaking after inaugurating a 24-hour 'satyagraha' by Kasaragod Lok Sabha member Rajmohan Unnithan in the town on Saturday. 

The MP's hunger strike was to protect the Constitution and against the proposed Uniform Civil Code and the BJP government's alleged role in flaming the ethnic violence in Manipur. But the strike, in effect, launched his bid for the next Lok Sabha election in 2024, as party workers across the district arrived in buses to felicitate him. Kasaragod MLA and IUML leader N A Nellikkunnu also rooted for him saying, "My prayer is that he should win from here next time too".

'PM using G20 as a PR platform'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeing the G20 Summit as a platform to inflate his popularity in the country, and for that, he is using the Ministry of External Affairs, said Venugopal. "It shows the narrowmindedness of Narendra Modi," he said.

Venugopal, in charge of Congress's organisation, said the Narendra Modi-led government shifted to using Bharat in official communiques fearing the Opposition parties' Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

In the seven byelections held on September 5, the INDIA won four seats and the BJP won three seats, he said, adding that the wind was blowing in favour of the opposition alliance.

Venugopal highlighted the Samajwadi Party's victory in Ghosi assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. As part of BJP's strategy to net opposition MLAs, the party made SP's MLA Dara Singh Chauhan resign and fielded him as the candidate in Ghosi. Yet, the BJP lost to the SP's candidate Sudhakar Singh, who got 58% vote share.

The Congress after coming to power in Karnataka scrapped the BJP-led government's anti-conversion law intended to imprison thousands of Christians in the name of conversion, Venugopal said.

He said Modi was acting like a dictator and was trying to make political gains from the clashes between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur. The "annihilation of Christians" in Manipur began on April 28-29, a few weeks after the BJP leaders in Kerala reached out to Christian leaders for friendship during Easter, he said.