CHENNAI: Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan talks about INDIA bloc’s protest. He says the party expressed dissatisfaction over KMDK’s choice of candidate in Namakkal and conveyed the same to Chief Minister MK Stalin which resulted in the candidate being replaced.
The BJP-led alliance has Narendra Modi as its PM candidate and they are going with the campaign of ‘Modi’s guarantee’. Do you think lack of a PM candidate will affect the INDIA bloc?
The BJP has ruled the country for 10 years, a long period. If they were committed, they could have done several good things. Since they have no achievement, they are using Modi’s image to fill the vacuum of their failures. In contrast, the INDIA bloc has asked voters to support the safeguarding of parliamentary democracy, values and ethos of the Constitution, state rights and federalism, reservation and social justice, people’s livelihood and future, and better employment. It is not difficult to elect a PM from among the INDIA bloc after polls.
Despite knowing there was no space to increase seats for partners in DMK-led alliance, why did Communist parties and others try for it?
Every party in the alliance, even the DMK, wants to contest from more seats than 2019. After DMK leaders explained the practical difficulties of not being able to increase the seats any more, we accepted their stance and inked the poll pact. There was no difference of opinion among the alliance in seat sharing.
AIADMK had expressed its confidence soon after they snapped ties with the BJP that some of the DMK’s alliance partners would come to their camp. How did you see this?
Since 2018, there has been no trouble in the DMK-led alliance and thus, there is no scope for such a move. Besides, there is still doubt among parties and the public whether the AIADMK has snapped ties with BJP voluntarily or was it part of the BJP’s plan to create trouble in the DMK-led alliance.
Many parties of INDIA bloc have also received funds through the electoral bonds. Why are you charging only BJP?
Firstly, all INDIA bloc parties had opposed the electoral bonds when it was brought by the BJP. Our alliance partners said it is against the constitution since there is no transparency. However, the BJP was keen on implementing it to exploit its power and secure more funds. And, they benefited. All parties who received the funds have submitted their details on the donors with the ECI, except the BJP. They also tried to prevent release of any data related to electoral bonds by exerting pressure on SBI.
Most parties in DMK-led alliance have been vocal against honour killing. However, KMDK fielded a candidate who had supported honour killings. Did Communist parties express their dissatisfaction with this?
Yes, all alliance partners in general and the Left parties in particular expressed discontent over his statement with CM MK Stalin through ministers. He was upset over the speech since we are all working for the integration of the society. We learnt that it was after Stalin’s direct intervention that the controversial candidate was replaced. This is the typical example of what the INDIA bloc stands for.