Tharoor slammed the BJP, saying that if the party comes to power again at the Centre, democracy will be in danger in the country…reports Asian Lite News
Questioning the Centre’s position on China, Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s position on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) is only an “election tactics” adding that it must also focus on what is happening on the Chinese borders.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently made a statement that PoK is a part of India and it will be taken back once BJP retains power.
Reacting to this, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said, “These are all election tactics. Those who talk about PoK, don’t think about what impact it will have internationally. What they have done about China? On 65 patrolling points, the agreement was going well in the last 45 years. But, now at 26 points, the Chinese military is there and our Jawans can’t go, when they tried, 20 of our Jawans were killed. The government is in no position to talk about this and they are talking about the PoK. It’s nonsensical to talk such things.”
On Amit Shah claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed 310 marks in the five phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor said, “Whatever Amit Shah says about the number of seats, we should discount it by 30-40 per cent, then we will see the reality. I think it’s (NDA to cross 400) not going to happen, BJP is in a bad state and the time has come for a change in the government”.
Regarding the potential Prime Ministerial candidate for the INDIA alliance, if it comes to power, Tharoor remarked that the decision would involve consultation among the 26 parties.
“Twenty-six parties collectively ponder over this matter. With so many leaders among them, there shouldn’t be much concern. After all, it’s not a Presidential system. Prime Minister Modi seems to be operating the parliamentary system as if it were a Presidential one. In a Presidential system, everyone casts their vote for a single individual. In a parliamentary system, we consider the party, various candidates, and then select a leader. In the 2004 elections, who could have predicted that Manmohan Singh would emerge as the leader?” Tharoor said.
Tharoor slammed the BJP, saying that if the party comes to power again at the Centre, democracy will be in danger in the country.
“If BJP forms the government this time, democracy will be in danger. If we want to save the country, the BJP will not have to be allowed to come to power again at the Centre. That’s why I am asking for votes for Charanjit Singh Channi,” Tharoor told reporters here as he was in the state to campaign for former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who is contesting from Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency as Congress candidate.
Tharoor alleged that the BJP wants to polarize voters on the basis of religion.
“BJP is dividing people on the basis of religion and caste. The Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and other religions who used to live together earlier, were divided into many parts by BJP,” he said.
He also accused the BJP of undermining the democratic institutions of the country.
“The BJP did not leave any democratic institutions. Whichever democratic body was supposed to work without any bias, BJP put pressure on it and brought it to its side. The media group which spoke against the government had to do face the central investigative agencies. Tharoor said that we are living in a society where we do not have the right to speak openly,” he said.
Charanjit Singh Channi is fighting against AAP candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu and SAD candidate Mohinder Singh Kaypee in Jalandhar in the 2024 elections.
In Punjab, voting for its 13 seats will take place in a single phase, with the seventh and final phase on June 1 seeing voting in Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, and Patiala constituencies. (ANI)
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