Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday described the RSS-BJP combine as a “poison” that has “destroyed” the country, and called on all opposition parties to unite to defeat the ruling party in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
This election is to save democracy, the country, and the Constitution, he said at the ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally of the opposition INDIA bloc at Ramlila Maidan here.
The opposition held the rally to highlight the “threat to democracy,” which, according to it, has become more palpable with the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.
Wives of both Kejriwal and Soren were present at the rally and even made speeches it, giving rise to speculations over their future roles in politics.
“We need to unite. Only then will we be able to fight the BJP. We won’t succeed if we keep attacking and fighting each other,” Kharge said, urging the alliance partners to let go of their differences.
The Congress president said that the 2024 general election will decide the future of the country on whether democracy will survive or “dictatorship” will thrive under Modi.
“PM Modi believes in dictatorship and not in democracy,” he remarked.
Accusing the BJP government of denying a level playing field to the opposition parties, Kharge pointed out how all bank accounts of the Congress party had been frozen just ahead of the polls and how the opposition leaders were intimidated and two chief ministers arrested.
“There is no level-playing field in this election. PM Modi has dug up the ground and is asking the opposition to play cricket there,” he said.
Kharge said that at a recent meeting in Rashtrapati Bhavan he told BJP chief J P Nadda that there was no level playing field as the Congress’s funds had already been “stolen” away.
“The BJP and the RSS are like poison, don’t taste it. They have destroyed the country and they should not be allowed to destroy it further,” the Congress chief said.