Modi’s ‘India First’ mantra means ‘Corporates First,’ says Karat

Patna, September 16, 2013

Staff Reporter

 

Calls for a “secular” alternative of parties with alternative outlook on economic policy

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat addresses a convention of Left parties in Patna on Sunday.— PHOTO: PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s mantra of ‘India First’ indicated a growth model that placed corporates first, in the light of huge subsidies doled out to them in Gujarat, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said here on Sunday.

“We saw what ‘India First’ mantra meant in Gujarat. It means ‘Ambani First,’ ‘Adani First,’ ‘Tata First,’ ‘Birla First.’ There is consensus among all big corporates that he should be prime minister, because only he will do their work. Lakhs of acres of land have been given to them at subsidised rates, apart from free water and power. This is the Gujarat model Narendra Modi wants to implement in India,” Mr. Karat said at a convention of the CPI(M), the CPI, the All India Froward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party.

In choosing Mr. Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, the BJP once again bared its intention to roll out the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s communal agenda. The pressure to appoint Mr. Modi was mounted on the BJP during the RSS meeting in Delhi on September 7 and 8, which was attended by senior BJP leaders, Mr. Karat said.

Referring to the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and parts of Bihar, he said the BJP and the RSS were fuelling communal tension ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Mr. Karat called for a “secular” alternative of parties with an alternative outlook on economic policy.

“The Congress and the BJP are the same where economic policy is concerned. They are together on privatisation and disinvestment. Thus, the BJP cannot be an alternative. The Left has, therefore, decided to form an alternative platform based on policy,” he said.

Asked if the Lok Sabha polls would be a contest between Mr. Modi and Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Karat later told reporters, “It is not a presidential election like in the U.S. People are not going to vote for Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi. They will form their views based on the policies and programmes of political parties. Non-Congress, non-BJP parties will gain more seats in the Lok Sabha elections.”

CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said the communal politics that began with L.K. Advani’s yatra was being played out again with Mr. Modi’s elevation.

“The BJP does not want to fight elections on the issue of farmers, labourers or inflation. They want to fight it with a religious agenda and divide the country. On the one hand, you have the Congress, whose policies have imperilled the country and on the other, the BJP. We, therefore, seek a change of policy, not just of a party,” he said.

We seek a change of policy, not just of a party: Gurudas Dasgupta

Copyright© 2013, The Hindu