Bhubaneswar: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday urged people not to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he apprehended the democracy will cease to exist in India if the saffron party returned to power at the Centre after forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
“Don’t vote for the BJP and Narendra Modi. It could be the last election. India will witness one party rule with Modi at the helm of affairs. The BJP is terrorizing leaders of other political parties as a result of which they are quitting their parent organizations. Whosoever dares to defy their diktat, they are being punished. Will democracy survive under such circumstances?” asked Kharge while formally launching his party's poll campaign for Odisha here at the state capital Bhubaneswar.
Stating that Indians must come forward to protect the Constitution, the AICC president said if the BJP retained power, PM Modi will ensure the Russian system of election that allows Vladimir Putin to continue to remain in power.
“It is the responsibility of the people of India now to save democracy. If you want to save democracy, you can do it. If you want to be slaves, it depends on your wish,” he observed.
The veteran Congress leader also reiterated his earlier assertion that the BJP was a “poison” and anybody consuming its ideology would surely die.
Stating that Rahul Gandhi was busy in binding the country with the principle of unity, Kharge said the BJP was dividing the country.
The Congress leader accused the Prime Minister of running his hegemony by using agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Training his gun at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who deserted the INDIA bloc on Sunday, Kharge said that the alliance will not be weakened because of one leader's exit.
“The parties in the INDIA bloc are united and will trounce Modi and Naveen," he added.
