PUDUCHERRY: Calling on party members to work in unison, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the BJP must be ousted from Puducherry to make southern India 'BJP mukt', or free of BJP. Rao was speaking at a function organised to mark Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee's new chief, V Vaithilingam, assuming charge on Monday.
Rao, who is also All India Congress Committee's in-charge for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said that BJP's defeat in Karnataka polls has ousted the party from south Indian states and Puducherry remains the only exception. If all the partymen work unitedly and set aside their differences, BJP can be defeated, he said citing Karnataka's example. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's might could do nothing. The Congress won with a majority, could have got 15 more seats, crossing 150, if not for small mistakes," he added.
Rao said that the upcoming parliamentary elections is the first step towards saving India from BJP by ensuring that Rahul Gandhi becomes the PM. Emphasising the need for Congress to be prepared for the BJP's financial and organisational resources, he said, "The BJP will come with money and machinery, but the Congress has to be prepared to tackle it." He praised Vaithilingam, who has served as the former CM, Minister, and MP and called on the support of all party leaders and workers to secure a Puducherry Lok Sabha seat.
Former CM V Narayanasamy said that PM Modi's strength lay in the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax, and CBI, rather than in his party or allies. Narayanasamy encouraged party members not to be intimidated by these institutions and noted a Congress wave after its victory in Karnataka. This, he said, would aid them in the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Narayanasamy, along with DMK Karaikal Convenor and MLA AMH Nazeem, expressed their support for Vaithilingam as the candidate for the Puducherry seat from the Congress-DMK alliance for the 2024 general elections.