JEDDAH – A leftist politician from India lambasted the attempts of the country's Hindu nationalist government led by Narendra Modi to saffronize the world's largest democracy and spread out red carpets for multinational companies in a way compromising the larger interests of the country's 1.25 billion people. Inaugurating the 26th conference of the Navodaya Cultural Forum of Jeddah region here on Friday, P. Sreeramakrishnan, member of Kerala Legislative Assembly and former national president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), underlined the need for the unity of secular forces to defeat Modi government's move to destroy India's democratic and secular fabric. The CPI (M) leader accused Prime Minister Modi of acting as a political tool and agent of multinationals and corporate tycoons through compromising the country's socialist values. The Modi government is facilitating attempts by multinationals and corporate giants to exploit the country's natural and human resources for their own gains at the expense of the broader interests of the common people, Sreeramakrishnan said while citing examples. He criticized the government's move to privatize some key and strategic sectors like defense, railway and insurance, as well as to increase arms purchases with Israel. “The Modi government decided to privatize the defense sector, a plan shelved by the previous Congress-led governments for several decades. It also lifted the restriction on increasing prices of some 348 items of life-saving medicines, which were hitherto available at cheap rates in the domestic market,” he said. “During the last general elections, the disillusioned people of India had no choice but elect the Hindu nationalists as an alternative to the scandal-ridden Indian National Congress. However, the new government is betraying common people by imposing on them hardships while doling out generous sops to corporate houses, and this will spell the doom of the public sector,” he said. Sreeramakrishnan, who is also member of the Kerala state committee of CPI (M), India's leading leftist party, said there is a nexus between corporate houses and the Modi government to deprive trade unions of their basic rights. “The government has so far introduced as many as 19 Labor Law amendments to please corporate houses. Last year, 1 million workers turned out in a massive show of strength in the country's capital New Delhi against the anti-worker policies,” he said while drawing attention to the fast growth of Indian multibillionaires like the Ambani brothers and the Adanis with all the blessings and clandestine support of the government. The leftist leader warned against attempts by Hindutwa forces to whip up communal tension in the country, dealing a big blow to India's pluralist society. “India's centuries-old pluralism, unity in diversity and peaceful coexistence are facing a big threat from the Sangh Parivar,” Sreeramakrishnan said. “The Sangh Parivar is treading a dangerous path, inflicting colossal damage to the country's secular polity and communal amity,” he added. Sreeramakrishnan, who served as chairman of the students union and member of the syndicate of Calicut University, urged secular forces and the public to stand united in defeating the Hindutva agenda of saffronizing India's history, educational system, as well as cultural and academic bodies. Sreeramakrishnan also called on the people of Kerala to support the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in next year's general election to make the state an “anti-communal and anti-corruption hub of development”. He called for an action program to guarantee the economic security of the Gulf returnees. “The previous LDF government's initiative to introduce Al-Baraka Islamic banking system was a bold step in the right direction. The initiative had been designed to attract expatriate investments with full guarantee from the government,” he added. Those who addressed the opening session of the conference included V.K.A. Rauf, Abdul Rahman Wandoor, Shibu Thiruvananthapuram, Navas Vembayam, C.M. Abdul Rahman, Jumaila Abu, Geetha Neelakandan, Krishnadas and Ullas Kannur. The function started with a welcome song, staged by members of Navodaya family and children's circle. The conference elected Shibu Thiruvananthapuram and Navas Vembayam as president and general secretary of Navodaya respectively. V.K. Abdul Rauf is the chief patron and Majeed Kozhikode is the treasurer. A 38-member executive committee and a central committee have also been constituted. Navodaya delegates from Makkah, Madinah, Taif, and Yanbu regions participated in the event.
