Modi government trying to change character of constitutional bodies and institutions, says Karat

Senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat criticizes Narendra Modi government for communal division and pro-corporate policies.

The Narendra Modi government which has come to power for the third time has shown that it will not in any way change its agenda and policies that it pursued for the past 10 years, said senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat, at a public meeting in Palani on Tuesday.

He said that based on the RSS-Hindutva ideology, the NDA government was trying to change the character of constitutional bodies and institutions. In the last few months after the elections, particularly in North India in the BJP-ruled states, there have been attacks on Muslims in various ways. The government was passing laws and legislation in these States to target the minorities and exclude them from their livelihood using bulldozers and demolishing their houses.

“In our country, most of the people have deep religious faiths and beliefs. They have been practising a way of life in which everybody lived harmoniously. But now misusing the religious sentiments and beliefs of the people, the BJP and the RSS are trying to create a permanent communal division in society,” he said.

In every election, they use religious polarisation and division to garner votes for themselves. Earlier it used to be at the time of elections. But now in everyday life issues are being raised and people are pitted against one another. The latest threat to secular society was how the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad, with the support of the BJP governments, were raising disputes where there were century-old mosques existing. They claim that there were temples existing beneath the mosques. Now, many courts in Uttar Pradesh have ordered surveys to find out if there were temples beneath the mosques, he said.

As per the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, except for Ayodhya, no other religious places of worship can be brought to legal disputes and its character changed. That is the law of the country. But, today, under the BJP’s Centre and State governments, legal disputes were being allowed. The entire country is going to be in turmoil and stark division in society is taking place because of the dangerous agenda. The Supreme Court should intervene. Some Hindutva organisations have gone to the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the Act. “We have filed an intervening application to defend the Act,” Mr. Karat said.

The other agenda of the NDA government was pro corporate. Their policies are devised to benefit the big business houses such as the Adanis and Ambanis, and new schemes to provide funds and subsidies to the corporates in the name of increasing productivity. Through the National Monetisation Pipeline Scheme they are handing over national assets and the monopolies were being encouraged by the government, he said adding the Tamil Nadu Assembly had taken a good stand against Tungsten mining in Madurai.