‘RSS, BJP doing everything to divide India by their assault on federalism and Constitution’

The RSS and the BJP’s political leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, while delivering discourses on ‘Akhand Bharat’, are doing everything to divide India by their assaults on Constitution, federalism, and devolution of funds, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby has said

The RSS and the BJP’s political leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, while delivering discourses on ‘Akhand Bharat’, are doing everything to divide India by their assaults on Constitution, federalism, and devolution of funds, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby has said.

Mr. Baby told presspersons here on Tuesday that Kerala was denied its rightful share in ₹25 lakh crore distributed by the Union government to States under different programmes. Kerala, with 2.80% population, should have received ₹70,000 crore from the Centre, but got only 50% of it.

“This approach may lead to divisive tendencies with questions as to why should the country remain together. This question is being asked by many. We will not raise this question. If the Narendra Modi-led Centre denies the rights of the States, refuses to honour the federal principles guaranteed in the Constitution and if the RSS, Mr. Modi, Mr. Amit Shah and Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman deny the States’ Constitutional rights, it will seriously affect the unity of the country. They don’t understand it and speak about ‘Akhand Bharat’ but they are doing everything possible to divide the country,” Mr. Baby said.

He predicted that there would be total domination of north India over South India if delimitation was undertaken based on population alone. So, the meeting of various Chief Ministers and political party leaders convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on March 22 unanimously resolved that every region should be equally represented.

“Even though Mr. Amit Shah says that no State will be affected by delimitation, he cannot be believed fully as he speaks something and does something else. We have to wait and see,” Mr. Baby said.

About rumours that Mr. Narendra Modi would step down as he would be 75 in September this year, the CPI(M) leader said it was an internal problem of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Since Mr. Modi forced senior party leaders, including L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, to retire citing their age as the reason, people were asking if Mr. Modi would step down, he said.

“But the CPI (M) is more concerned about the BJP’s political leadership being controlled by the RSS, which is constantly assaulting Constitution, secularism, and democracy. When the new Parliament was inaugurated, they kept there a ‘sengole’ (sceptre), a symbol of feudalism. It shows that they want to take the country back to the feudalistic past as they don’t respect democracy, federalism, and Constitution as a whole. Hence, all the forces which believe in democracy and federalism should come together,” Mr. Baby said.