Siddaramaiah can make a good Prime Minister: Thirumavalavan
The Hindu
The former Chief Minister of Karnataka is uncompromising in his opposition to BJP, says VCK chief
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol. Thirumavalvan on Saturday said Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah could make a good Prime Minister.
Speaking at an award function organised by the VCK in which Mr. Siddaramaiah was conferred the Ambedkar Sudar Award, Mr. Thirumavalavan acknowledged that his opinion could be viewed as controversial. “Someone may ask why am I mentioning the name of Siddaramaiah for Prime Ministership when Rahul Gandhi is there. It is for the Congress party to choose,” he said.
He said he thought Mr. Siddaramaiah could be a good choice for Prime Minister because of his visionary leadership and ideological commitment to oppose the Sanatana forces. Alleging that the BJP either tries to entice or threaten by filing cases if it wants to bring someone into its fold, he said that there was a need for a leader who could not be threatened and who was uncompromising in opposing the BJP.
He highlighted the measures taken by the former Chief Minister towards the upliftment of Dalits and other marginalised sections, particularly the enactment of a special act for separate budgetary allocation for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act.
Arguing that it is extremely dangerous for the country if the BJP returned to power in 2024, he said there was a need to put up a united fight led by the Congress.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said BJP could never be a party for social justice. While welcoming the decision to make Draupadi Murmu the President, he said social justice, however, could not end with tokenisms. He blamed the party for actively trying to dilute reservation policies that benefited SCs, STs and Other Backward Castes.
Pointing out that the significantly higher budgetary allocation made to SCs and STs after his government enacted the special act, he appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to pass a similar Act.
With the clock ticking down to the Lok Sabha election counting day on Tuesday, opposing fronts are perceptibly edgy and poised to continue the rancorous skirmishing that marked the campaign season in Kerala. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, is seemingly basking in the “interim victory” granted by various exit polls. The UDF discerns that its poll strategy of turning the polls foremostly into a damning referendum on the Left Democratic Front government’s perceived failures rather than BJP’s “divisive politics” at the national level stood a fighting chance of paying off.