29 October,2023 12:42 PM IST | Thane | PTI
Yogendra Yadav. File Pic
Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav has claimed the BJP wants to push the concept of 'one nation, one election' as it is scared of its performance in polls to the state assemblies.
The concept is nothing but to promote "one nation, one election, one party and one leader," Yadav claimed during an event in Maharashtra's Thane city on Saturday night.
Assembly elections are scheduled next month in five states - Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
Yadav said the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 will decide the direction of the country for next 50 years. Hence, the polls next year are of utmost importance for the people of the country, he said.
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The country faces several challenges in 2024 and unless the people consider them in totality, they will never be addressed effectively, he said.
Yadav claimed the strength of the opposition INDIA alliance was growing day-by-day and the BJP was worried about it.
The issues in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections are different and when they go to the voters during the assembly polls they are answerable for the local issues, which will be very difficult for them (BJP), he said.
"The 'one nation, one election' has got nothing to do with the electoral reforms and the basic purpose (of mooting the concept) is different," he said.
Yadav also claimed the BJP does not want caste census as it is afraid that its result will expose the real economic and educational status of different castes and then it will be difficult for the party to manage the show.
"Caste census is an X-ray of the social arrangement in the country," he said.
The current situation in the country is like an "undeclared emergency" for an unlimited period, he claimed while targeting the BJP.
The Swaraj India leader further claimed the "BJP has the external protection of the Sangh Parivar", while such a protection is not available to the opposition INDIA bloc.
The people of the country need to give support and strength to the INDIA alliance as a ray of hope has emerged from it, he said.
Given the current situation, the BJP may face defeat in the 2024 polls as its popularity is going down in several states, Yadav claimed.
He said to win over the people the country, the INDIA alliance should go to them with concrete plans on how to tackle issues like unemployment, price rise, communal disharmony, and steps for the welfare of women and farmers.
The country needs a "new dream" and this can be given by the opposition INDIA bloc, he said.
If they come on the streets with even one issue, that will change the mood of the country, Yadav said, adding that only parliamentary alliance will not be sufficient.
He asked the people to stop indulging in psephology and work towards bringing a change in the country.
In the 21st century, democracy is being "killed in a new smart way," Yadav claimed.
Referring to atrocities on Muslims, he said the "routinisation of atrocities is most hazardous."
The other challenges being faced currently include those pertaining to secularism, federalism and social justice, he said.
"What we see currently is the new model of corporate and political leadership relations. Some select industrialists are made the engine and the rest of the country are the bogies attached to it," Yadav said.
Such a thing is happening for the first time in the country, he pointed out.
The work of breaking the foundation of social justice, built since the last 70 years, has begun now and the reservation for the economically weaker section (EWS) is the first step to towards it, he claimed.
Today, there is also a dire need to save the Republic of India, he said.
"The mistake we did was we threw away nationalism, civilisation heritage and Hindu religion, which the BJP picked up and put it to its own use," Yadav said.
Now is the time to get them back, he added.
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