Sitaram Yechury slams Modi govt, says BJP thinks only Hindus are true nationalists

Charging the Narendra Modi-led government with "placing creed above the country", CPI (M) on Saturday said if this was not resisted with, India will become "rabidly intolerant" and would assume "fascistic proportions." The architect of the Indian constitution had asked if Indians "will place country above creed or place creed above the country," since that could 'jeopardise' independence, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said while addressing a meeting here to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

"What are we seeing today? The BJP government today, it is forcing people to place their creed above the country. They are saying their religion, the Hindus and Hindus alone, are true nationalists in the country," he said.

"But placing the creed above the country, today you are once again jeopardising our country's independence. That is the warning Ambedkar gave, that is the warning we must heed to today," he said.

Yechury expressed concern over incidents like the lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri over "false allegations" of eating beef, besides the hanging of two persons in Jharkhand recently on charges of being cattle traders, and said such incidents happened "because they (government) are placing creed above country."

"With the government itself placing creed above the country, they are not only jeopardising the future but also our independence. If you want to protect cows, please by all means protect cows. But does cow protection means killing humans," he asked.

"Ambedkar's vision will remain only in history books and the real India will be an India of inequalities, rabidly intolerant and assuming fascistic proportions," he said.

He said that students of educational institutions like JNU and Hyderabad Central University besides others were questioning these and therefore the CPI (M) would support these "soldiers".

Yechury also slammed the Modi government on the economic front, saying agriculture, manufacturing growth and employment generation were in 'crisis' and took a swipe at the foreign trips of the Prime Minister.

He also slammed the BJP, and Modi in particular, for doing 'event management' on Ambedkar by praising him and charged the ruling party with exactly "doing the opposite" of the leader's vision for the country.