Open to any party, including TRS, joining anti-BJP front: Chandrababu Naidu
New Delhi: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, who is spearheading an effort to cobble up an anti-BJP front, Friday said not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.
Naidu has stepped up efforts to bring together parties which are against the BJP ahead of a possible meeting of the grand alliance after the election results are declared on May 23.
The Andhra Pradesh chief minister met CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday and discussed with them about the possible tie-up in the post-election scenario.
According to sources, Naidu is likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the national capital and BSP chief Mayawati in Lucknow Saturday.
"We welcome not only the TRS but any party which is against the BJP. We are welcoming all such parties to be a part of our grand alliance," Naidu told reporters after meeting the Election Commission of India (ECI) here.
He was responding to a query if a Congress-led grand alliance will join hands with the TRS, which is trying to bring together all regional parties to forge a non-Congress, non-BJP front, after the election results are declared.
"I am meeting everybody. Will chalk out a plan after discussing with all leaders," Naidu added.
In the meeting with the ECI, the TDP president said that he requested the poll panel to take a serious note of the series of complaints filed by his party including against the repoll ordered in Chandragiri Assembly segment in the Andhra Pradesh and counting of votes in the entire constituency if discrepancy found in VVPAT slips with five mandated Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in any part of the country.
"As on today, the ECI's decisions are very controversial, one-sided, pro-establishment and pro-government. During the entire election, they were supporting the government. It is unfortunate," he told reporters after the meeting.
Questioning the working style of the poll panel, Naidu said, "I am the party president for the last 25 years. I have never seen this type of Election Commission."
The transfer of the West Bengal home secretary for alleged interference in the election process is an "unnecessary interference" of the poll panel, he said, adding, "We don't want to surrender our powers to the ECI or the Government of India."
Invoking of Article 324 to abruptly curtail the campaign period in West Bengal and "giving time to Prime Minister Narendra Modi" to hold two rallies is "unfortunate and not correct", Naidu said.
Further, the ECI is "not taking action" against the BJP's Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya Thakur who has "insulted" Mahatma Gandhi.
Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, ignited a fresh controversy Thursday by claiming that Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse "is and will remain a patriot".
"The ECI not taking action against any BJP MPs, Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Amit Shah (BJP president)," he said while protesting the "unfair approach" of the poll panel.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
