Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader A. K. Antony has termed the coming Lok Sabha elections as the ‘mother of all battles’ which will decide the future of India. The electorate has a golden opportunity to throw out the BJP-led government at the centre and save India, he told reporters on the eve of his road show covering all the 20 Lok Sabaha constituencies that will be launched from Kasaragod on Sunday.
India is a combination of ideas, ideals and culture and it is respected by all countries. But over the last five years, ever since Narendra Modi government came to power, the country has been degenerating in all fields, he said. The RSS was even planning to change the Constitution, he added.
“India will face doom if the RSS-led BJP government gets another term. In such an eventuality, it will mess up the Constitution and destroy the secular character of India. The Kerala voters can prevent such a move,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the Congress would emerge as the single largest party and come to power. Instead of the ‘Ache Din’ promised by Narendra Modi, the country faced severe unemployment, farmers’ suicides and threat to its unity, he added.
He asked Keralites to prevent the communal polarisation being planned by the BJP and also defeat the LDF. The country cannot afford another RSS-led government, he added.
Answering a question on Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad, he said he chose the constituency which is a convergence of three South Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
“It is ridiculous to say that Rahul Gandhi had run away from Amethi. It is Rahul Gandhi’s prerogative to choose which constituency he will retain. Rahul's statement that he will not utter anything against the CPM is a magnanimous gesture,” added Antony.
On the controversial tweet by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Muslim League, Antony recalled the UP leader’s association with former IUML national president E. Ahmed. Antony also did not spare Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and asked what had happened to him.
The CPM has been wiped out in West Bengal and Tripura, he pointed out. “While the NCP, JD (S) and the erstwhile JD (U) are Left allies, why they have not given a seat to the CPM in Maharashtra, Karnataka or Bihar where these parties run the governments”? he asked.
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