According to CPI General Secretary D Raja, the BJP leadership's recent streak of roadshows in Tamil Nadu is owed to the saffron party's fear of defeat at the hands of the INDIA bloc. Raja was speaking to reporters in Madurai on Friday, when he took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, both of whom are set to return to the state for their canvassing trails.
"Modi is not ready to discuss the common man's issues on a public platform. Neither is he ready to talk about the electoral promises that he has fulfilled in his 10-year-long tenure, including generating two crore jobs annually, Rs 15 lakh to the bank accounts of common people, and doubling revenue for farmers, among others. Instead, he has started making new promises under 'Modi Guarantee' tag this election," Raja said.
He added, "Modi must not understand the meaning of election promises, as he claims to catapult India to the third largest economy in the world. This is impossible because India is the one of the countries with the highest external debt."
The CPI leader did not spare AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palanismwai, and accused the latter of creating a narrative that the tug-of-war is between the AIADMK and DMK. "They supported BJP when people were stripped of their rights in the garb of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and others. Is EPS ready to say he is not okay with Modi becoming the PM for the third time? On the other hand, PMK, which has pattali (working class) in its name, is now supporting the BJP, which in turn backs corporate giants like (Anil) Ambani and (Gautam) Adani. Ramdass has cheated the working-class people, Raja said.
Claiming that good response for the INDIA bloc has been recorded in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra, and other states, Raja called out the BJP for failing to make inroads in Manipur, and Jammu and Kashmir. "In Kerala, the BJP was not allowed to enter during both the assembly and parliamentary elections. They could not win 400 seats because the INDIA bloc was strong enough to fight them in each state. The INDIA bloc does not want to set the narrative of 400+ seats," Raja said. Reiterating the words of INDIA bloc leaders that the upcoming election will be historic, Raja gave a clarion call for the people to dethrone the saffron party.