The opposition Congress in Kerala on Monday said that if the Narendra Modi government comes to power for a third time, it will lead the country to destruction and therefore, the grand old party decided to unify all secular groups to defeat the BJP.
Former Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala made the statement while speaking to reporters in New Delhi.
Chennithala said Congress took the initiative to create the I.N.D.I.A bloc or front with the deliberate intention of ensuring, at any cost, that the BJP does not return to power for a third time.
'If the Narendra Modi government comes to power for a third time, it will lead the country to destruction. There is no doubt about that,' he said.
That is why the Congress decided to unify all secular groups to fight against the BJP, he added.
His remarks come a day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned that if the BJP comes to power for a third time, the country would be in an 'insurmountable danger' and there would be no point in regretting it thereafter.
'The country has realised this fact and public opinion is that this danger has to be avoided. Therefore, a unified front of secular-minded groups and people has been created with the aim of defeating the BJP and ensuring it does not return to power for a third term,' the CM said.
Chennithala said he was in the national capital for an urgent meeting convened by the party to devise strategies for the upcoming assembly polls in the five states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
The senior Congress leader also told reporters that the party has good expectations of victory in the five states.
On being asked about differences in the members of the INDIA bloc, Chennithala said there would obviously be differences of opinion among the members in some states. 'Therefore, we are planning a common minimum programme to bring them all together on one platform to defeat the BJP,' he said.
Published 09 October 2023, 12:21 IST