THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : This Lok Sabha election is the last opportunity for the people to protect basic constitutional values like democracy and secularism, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
“This should be viewed as the last opportunity to resist the attempts to rewrite the Constitution, convert secular India into a religious country and to destroy constitutional institutions,” Pinarayi said in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
The CM said the Sangh parivar government at the Centre sabotaged democracy.
“Under them, the annual sitting days of Parliament came down. Investigation agencies were misused to prevent the free functioning of political parties and to sabotage the functioning of state governments ruled by opposition parties. If we lose this opportunity, secularism will be in danger, minorities will be in danger, democracy, freedom and national integration would be in danger,” he said.
The CM said the Left front had put up a brave fight against the BJP government. He said it was a Left leader who blocked the bulldozers sent to destroy Muslim houses during the Delhi riots.
“It was a Left leader who challenged the Gujarat government’s decision to release the accused in the Bilkis Bano case. It was CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury who challenged the electoral bond in the Supreme Court,” he pointed out.
The CM hoped the Left front will rise as an influential force in the Parliament this time.