All oppn parties should come together to save country: Naidu
Bengaluru, Nov 8: Days after he met heads of opposition parties, including Rahul Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Thursday held talks with former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy and said it was necessary for the opposition to unite against BJP to save the country and institutions from destruction.
Aiming to forge an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Naidu alleged that every institution, including CBI and RBI, had been destroyed by the BJP-led NDA government.
"It is our responsibility to join hands together to save and protect this great nation and also save democracy and the Constitution," he told reporters after meeting Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy here.
Naidu hinted that the 1996 model of forming the government with Deve Gowda as prime minister with outside support of the Congress, could also be one of the experiments to form the government at the centre.
"PM candidate, we will decide. All of us will join together. First our aim is to protect democracy and save nation. What I am saying is, Congress is the main and major party. If you see only one experiment, that is under Deve Gowda's prime ministership.
At that time, the Third Front had come to power.
"Then we had take support from Congress from outside.
That is the only experiment... " he said.
Asked whether he was referring to 1996 model of forming government, he said, "I am interested in the nation and consensus. Everybody will join together. There is no organisation as of today.
I have taken some initiative and I am meeting everybody. After that, we will meet and decide how to go about."
Echoing similar views, Kumaraswamy said the prime ministerial candidate could be discussed later, "but at this point of time, the focus is to unite the opposition and save democracy."
He said a mega farmers rally would be held in December or January.
"I plan to hold the event by December-end of January (next year). All regional leaders, with the exception of BJP, will be invited," he said.
Flaying the BJP-led NDA government, Deve Gowda alleged the NDA has created problems by destroying various institutions of the country.
"It is the responsibility of all secular parties including the Congress to come together to oust the present government," he said.
The meeting came amid the ruling Congress-JDS coalition winning two out of the three Lok Sabha seats and two assembly segments that went to bypolls in Karnataka on November 3.
The BJP had managed to retain Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat, but lost Ballari, a bastion of the BJP and Reddy brothers.
Naidu, who had last week met heads of several opposition parties, including Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, had termed his party's alliance with the Congress a "democratic compulsion" to protect the country.
Naidu Thursday said the prime ministerial candidate would be decided at later stage, but at this point of time, it was necessary for all opposition parties to unite together to not only save the country, "but also save institutions from destruction by central government."
"It is an initial exercise (of bringing opposition parties together). After that, we will work together," he said.
He said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kumaraswamy were holding rallies in January.
"These things are happening. How to work out the unification of the parties and how to go about thereafter, we will all see in course of time," he said.
Lambasting the Centre, Naidu alleged that it was using CBI and income tax departments to "control opposition," conducting raids "indiscriminately and harassing politicians, which people have been witnessing even in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu."
Such raids also have been conducted recently in Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar besides Gujarat, he alleged.
"Even as these raids are taking place, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not making any statements," Naidu said.
"Besides, destroying the institutions, the Indian economy is in doldrums as demonetisation did not have good effect on it," he said.
Petrol prices have been increasing day by day and rupee is also depreciating, he added.
Launching a tirade against the BJP-led NDA government, Naidu alleged that the party had betrayed the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh as it did not confer special status for AP.
The TDP broke away from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in March this year.
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EC role, Hindu vote consolidation among factors for BJP win in Bengal polls: J-K CM Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday attributed the BJP's West Bengal win to a "significant role" played by the Election Commission (EC), alongside a consolidation of Hindu votes and a fractured minority mandate.
Abdullah also said the INDIA bloc needs to define its role in the political landscape of the country and make it clear whether the opposition alliance was limited to the parliamentary elections or extended to the state elections as well.
Talking to PTI Videos, Abdullah hinted that the EC has compromised its neutrality by conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and linked it to the BJP's gains in the state, claiming large-scale deletion of legitimate voters.
On the performance of the BJP in the just concluded assembly elections, Abdullah said the saffron party has almost nothing to show in southern states.
"So then you look at West Bengal and Assam. Yes, the BJP improved its tally in Assam. There are various reasons for that. You know as well as I do, what those are. West Bengal, I think we need to look at the results very carefully," he said.
"The easiest explanation for the West Bengal result is the serious curtailing of voter list," Abdullah said.
"Voters found their names deleted. People who served in uniform and fought for this country on the borders, who were considered Indian citizens all their lives, were suddenly held to a higher standard and not allowed to vote. Something is not right," he said.
While alleging that the EC played a "significant part" in the results, the chief minister admitted the outcome was multifaceted and noted a consolidation of over 60 per cent of the Hindu vote towards the BJP and a "significant fracture" in the minority vote, particularly in seats where Muslims constitute over 50 per cent of the population.
"There is no doubt that the role of the Election Commission played a significant part in the results but we will also have to look at the other factors," he said.
He said the results of West Bengal cannot be compared to those in other states. "The situation was unique to West Bengal. The SIR that was done, the way in which the voter lists were changed, the sort of minute scrutiny that the Election Commission subjected West Bengal to, the role of the central investigative agencies.
"All of these are situations that at least in recent electoral history of India are unique to West Bengal. So to suggest that we can learn lessons from West Bengal and implement them in other parts of the country, I think would not be correct," he said.
Abdullah had recently said that if the West Bengal results throw a surprise, the role of EC will come under scrutiny.
However, during Tuesday's interview, the chief minister said he still maintains that electronic voting machines (EVMs) do not lead to vote theft.
"What we saw in West Bengal...I know there are a lot of people who believe that the EVMs themselves are flawed. I am not a proponent of that conspiracy theory.
"But I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favours in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls," he said and cited the example of delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam.
"These are clear examples of how the process was done to benefit one party or in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, one party and its allies. And the results speak for themselves. You created seven new seats in Jammu and Kashmir and out of those six seats were won by the BJP. You redrew assembly constituencies to benefit one particular party or its allies. And the same is true for West Bengal as well," he said.
Referring to the INIDA bloc, he said the election results were no new message for the alliance.
"We need to decide what the INDIA bloc is for. Is it only for Parliament or for state elections as well?" he asked.
"What happened in West Bengal is unfortunate. The Congress and TMC fought against each other. Now the Congress agrees with Mamata Banerjee that 100 seats were stolen, but the fact is they fought each other," he said.
Despite the friction, Abdullah reaffirmed the "pre-eminent position" of the Congress within the opposition alliance, dismissing the idea of any other party assuming the mantle.
"The Congress is the only party other than the BJP with a pan-India presence. All of us acknowledge this," he stated.
"To suggest someone else can assume a leadership role would be incorrect. Kharge Sahib is the president of the Congress, and by virtue of that, he assumes leadership of the INDIA bloc meetings. That is the way it should be," the chief minister said.
Abdullah said any 'Common Minimum Programme' would depend on whether the opposition alliance decides to fight state assembly elections collectively, noting that he would share his specific views with the bloc internally rather than through the media.
