Kerala Power Minister K. Krishnankutty, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader MV Shreyamskumar at a memorial meet for the late MP Veerendrakumar in Kozhikode on Sunday. , Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
A memorial meeting at the Kozhikode beach on Sunday evening became a platform for former Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) state president MP Veerendrakumar to call for an alliance between socialists and communists against the onslaught on secularism and the federal structure. In the constitution by the central government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party
Chief Minister of Kerala and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, and Kerala Energy Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader K. Krishnankutty were also present.
Inaugurating the public meeting, Mr. Vijayan criticized the manner in which the new Parliament House was inaugurated in New Delhi on Sunday. “What happened today should not have happened in a country which calls itself a secular republic. The Central Government performed a religious ritual at a public event. There has also been criticism about how the President of India was not connected to it,” he said.
usurped the powers of the ‘states’
Mr Vijayan alleged that the Center was usurping the powers of the states and strangling their financial resources. Unilateral decisions were being taken on issues in which both the central and state governments were stakeholders. Calling it a violation of the federal principles of the Constitution, Mr. Vijayan alleged that several agreements affecting the states were signed without consulting them. He also claimed that the Center was not allowing the legislature and the judiciary to function independently. “It is a battle between humanity and cruelty. Being neutral in this context is like joining hands with brutal forces,” said Mr. Vijayan.
‘No care for the poor’
Meanwhile, Mr Yadav alleged that the BJP had no concern for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. That is why it was opposing the demand for caste census. “There are also open attacks on the misuse of independent institutions and agencies against political opponents, including in Kerala. What is needed is that the parties with socialist background and the communists should come together and work. While there are similarities and differences between socialism and communism, in the larger interest of poor people, we should cooperate with each other,” he said.