D Raja Urges Removal of BJP to “safeguard India’s social fabric”

D Raja, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), emphasized the imperative of removing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from authority to safeguard the Constitution and the secular democratic structure of the nation on Saturday.

Speaking at the press conference after releasing the party manifesto, D Raja said, “If we want to save our Constitution, democracy, the secular democratic fabric of our country, safeguard the federal system of governance, and if we want to protect the rights of the people, it has become imperative that the BJP be thrown out of power. If people vote and defeat BJP and its allies in the elections, then only India can remain a secular democratic republic.”

Accompanied by fellow party members, D Raja unveiled a manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, pledging that the CPI is committed to bringing central investigative agencies such as the ED and CBI under parliamentary oversight. This move aims to ensure the impartiality of their investigations and prevent interference and misuse by the Executive branch.

“CPI will introduce measures to address growing inequality and expand the resource base of our country with taxation measures like wealth tax, inheritance tax, and increased corporate tax to keep the nature of our economy more equal, just, and egalitarian,” the party promised in its manifesto.

In its manifesto, the party also vowed to persist in its political and legal endeavors to eliminate the arbitrary 50 per cent cap on reservations. Additionally, the CPI manifesto highlighted the party’s commitment to advocating for the abolition of the contractual and disparaging Agnipath Scheme, which imposes demeaning service conditions and fails the youth of our nation. Instead, the CPI pledges to fully reinstate the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

According to the party’s election manifesto, the CPI outlined its intention to strive for the repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Furthermore, the CPI’s election manifesto articulated its proposal to dismantle NITI Aayog and restore the Planning Commission, aiming to develop evidence-based policies for the nation.

“It will scrap all irrational and communal changes brought by the BJP in NCERT and other text-books.The New Education Policy (NEP) will be scrapped and replaced with a pro-people model of education for the entire country,” the manifesto read.