The launch of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s autobiography ‘Ungalil Oruvan’ (One among you) on Monday saw the coming together of leaders of various political parties including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, National Conference’s Omar Abdullah, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav in Chennai. The five leaders launched a broadside against the BJP on the occasion.
“The BJP should not be under illusions because we know how to fight them. We are going to fight them and defeat them,” said Rahul Gandhi releasing Stalin’s autobiography.
Charging that all democratic institutions were under attack in the country, he said that for the first time since Independence, a State of the Indian Union had its power taken away from it under the BJP rule. “It never happened before. That the rights of the people have been snatched from them. Today the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not rule themselves. Bureaucrats from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat rule them and that is the extreme they have done to Jammu and Kashmir,” the Congress leader charged.
Omar Abdullah said, “Today we are told that we no longer have the right to choose. The freedom to choose whether to follow a religion or not and if follow a religion how much to follow. Even that was dictated to us today,” warning that what started in Jammu and Kashmir might not end there, he called for continuing the struggle. “It is not a fight against a political party, but the entire machinery. The fight and struggle we are waging is not an easy one. Perhaps not even a fair one. But just one.”
In a clarion call to protect the Indian Union from divisive forces, Stalin said, “I wish to make an appeal, not just to the leaders on this stage, but to everyone who believes in secular values. Our Indian Union is facing a big threat from divisive forces. We all need to come together to defeat them and protect the founding principles of India.”
The DMK leader added that the Indian Constitution should be amended to confer more power on states and political parties such as the Congress, Left and the regional parties should raise their voice in support of the demand.
Vijayan said that protecting and strengthening the multi-cultural and plural outlook of Indian society and enriching mother tongues have also been primary concerns of the Dravidian Movement.
RJD leader Yadav said, “We must seize this moment to declare unitedly that we shall struggle to ensure caste-based Census immediately and revisit the ‘ceiling of reservation myth’ accordingly on the lines of Tamil Nadu.”
