The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `A battle between secular democracy and autocracy'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 06, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`A battle between secular democracy and autocracy'

Staff Reporter

Yechury asks electorate to reject `politics of appeasement'

ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member, Sitaram Yechury, addressing an election meeting at Tiruverambur near Tiruchi on Friday. — Photo: M. Moorthy

TIRUCHI: Stating that the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu was a battle between "secular democracy" and "autocracy", Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury on Friday appealed to the electorate to defeat the "autocratic" All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime.

Seeking support for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) at an election meeting organised in Tiruverambur near here, Mr. Yechury said the need of the hour was to re-establish secular democracy in Tamil Nadu and participate in a much larger movement to build a strong India.

Referring to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's announcement of freebies, he appealed to the electorate to reject the "politics of appeasement."

The secular forces in the country had united to provide a Congress-led secular government at the centre, he said adding that the DPA was formed to defeat the "autocratic" force in Tamil Nadu and establish secular democracy.

Mr. Yechury said just like the people of Nepal who had asserted the right of democracy in that country throwing out three centuries of monarchical rule, the approach of the electorate in Tamil Nadu must be to oust the "autocratic" AIADMK regime.

Terming the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) ties with the AIADMK as opportunism, he said the electorate must reject the "politics of opportunism" and join the national mainstream to take the country on a new path.

The AIADMK Government, he charged, was responsible for communal forces coming to power at the Centre in 1998 by giving a letter of support. The country was today trapped in politics of opportunism and communalism. If the communal forces were allowed to succeed, it could threaten the unity and social harmony of the country.

In today's circumstances, defeating communal forces was of paramount importance to take the country forward, he said. The Left was supporting the Congress-led government at the Centre keeping in mind the country's interest besides keeping to keep out the communal forces.

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