HYDERABAD: Stating that the upcoming vice-presidential election assumes historic significance, CPI General Secretary D Raja on Wednesday described it as a political battle that could shape the country’s future.
He appealed to all secular parties to rally behind INDIA bloc’s candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy, stating that his victory would stand as a milestone in national politics.
He was speaking at the fourth state conference of the CPI here in the city.
Stating that the fundamental right to vote, which is guaranteed by the Constitution, is being undermined, he said: “The Election Commission is no longer functioning as a neutral constitutional authority. Large-scale deletion of voters’ names is taking place in states like Bihar under the guise of special revisions.”
“Removal of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power alone will safeguard the Constitution and the right to vote,” he added.
Stating that he himself was a petitioner in a case on the disenfranchisement of eligible voters in Bihar, filed in the Supreme Court, he expressed concern that similar issues could arise in upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal.
He said that India must not be allowed to drift into a theocratic state, recalling Dr BR Ambedkar’s warning that such a development would spell disaster.
The session was presided over by CPI state secretary and MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao. National leaders, including K Narayana and Syed Aziz, CPI(M) state secretary John Wesley and CPI AP secretary K Ramakrishna also attended the conference.