Lok Sabha polls 2019: Former Kerala Chief Minister AK Antony says Congress cannot fight BJP single-handedly

AK Antony said the government formation in Karnataka showed the Congress leadership's caliber to rise to the occasion.

Former Kerala Chief Minister AK Antony (File | EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress cannot fight the BJP single-handedly in the Lok Sabha polls 2019, said party working committee member AK Antony.

"The need of the hour is a coalition of secular parties to defeat the BJP. Congress will take the lead for this as it did in Karnataka," he said at a commemoration meeting organised by the KPCC on the 54th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Antony said the government formation in Karnataka showed the Congress leadership's caliber to rise to the occasion. "That's why it took the lead for a non-BJP government in Karnataka though by making sacrifices," he said.

Antony said the nation faced a situation similar to that of the political scenario in Kerala in 1957. "In Kerala, a coalition was formed against the government's misrule. Similarly, a unification of secular forces is needed now to protect social justice and Constitutional values," he said.

Referring to some CPM leaders' opposition against joining hands with the Congress, Antony said: "Those who are adamant against associating with the Congress are the ones who could not even recover their deposits in many elections," he said.

"If the CPM leadership obliges to the Kerala leaders' demand, it will be a foolish decision," he added.

According to Antony, India would have disintegrated much earlier if not for Nehru as the maiden prime minister. "He boldly led the country in difficult times. His encouragement for science and technology, formation of Planning Commission, non-aligned movement and independent foreign policy were instrumental in the future development of the country," he said.

But today, Antony said, the Narendra Modi Government had become a stark contrast to the Nehruvian ideals. Modi replaced the Planning Commission with Niti Aayog and the latter wants PSUs to be privatised and subsidies abolished.

"In Modi's India only the fittest can survive. The poor are left to die. Small-scale trade and commerce are falling after demonetisation. Banks' NPA rose by Rs 9 lakh crore," he said.

Modi's foreign policy revolves around pleasing the US and Israel. Still, H-1B Visa rules in the US are against the interests of Indian expatriates, he said.