PM fulfilling "anti-Muslim agenda" of Jana Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha, alleges Deve Gowda
Says attempts are being made to treat Muslims as second grade citizens
Bengaluru, Jan 23: JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Thursday called on secular regional parties and Congress to fight against the "divisive policies" of the central government like the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens with a Common Minimum Programme.
The former Prime Minister also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of fulfilling the "long standing anti-Muslim agenda" of Jana Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha, and leading the country to the margins of danger.
Gowda said that during these trying times, regional parties and the Congress still believing in secular principles have to fight with a CMP "to avert the disaster that may explode anytime."
It was a matter left for bigger leaders to decide, but the JD(S), being a small party, should be ready to fight these acts at any level and be ready to go to jail if such a situation arose, he said, addressing a JD(S) convention here.
Alleging that attempts were being made to treat Muslims as second grade citizens of the country, he accused Modi of "fulfilling the nearly 70-year-old anti Muslim agenda" of the Jana Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha, after his party won over 300 seats in the Lok Sabha in the 2019 parliamentary polls.
Pointing to nationwide agitations, he said "this government has led the country to the margins of danger..."
Noting that Congress and JD(S) as "secular parties", had formed a coalition government in Karnataka that eventually collapsed, the regional party's national President said he would not discuss who was right or wrong and reasons for the government to fall. "But somewhere we have stumbled," he said.
"How the BJP government was formed in Karnataka, how long will it survive, where did we stumble...let's not discuss about it.
Let's concentrate on strengthening our organisation...be prepared for everything. Only then will the party survive,"he added.
Pointing to his defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and the party getting 15 seats in the assembly polls, Gowda asked JD (S) workers not to be disheartened, fearing the party's poor prospects in the future.
"...the strength of the party is you (workers) and it is you who can build and rejuvenate it. You will have to work with zeal. Without your support one Deve Gowda or one Kumaraswamy (his son) cannot achieve anything," he added.
The JD(S) also passed three resolutions- against the "weakening" economic situation in the country and growing unemployment and to hold a mass public movement in this regard; agitation against discrimination in allocation of funds to the state by the centre if it is not set right soon; and demand to withdraw Citizenhisp Amendment Act to maintain peace in the country.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
