Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of undermining the basis of constituency-based Parliamentary democracy by asking voters to vote for the party and not the candidate.
Addressing a public rally in Solan city of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, Modi had said that voters need not remember the party’s candidate from their constituency but only need to remember that they have to press the Bharatiya Janata Party symbol of lotus.
“If you see ‘kamal ka phool’ while casting your vote, understand that this is the BJP, this is Modi who has come to you,” the prime minister had said. “Your every vote for ‘kamal ka phool’ will come directly to Modi’s account as a blessing.”
Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on November 12 where the incumbent BJP is looking to retain power.
The former Union minister said that Modi’s recent statement came after he shunned Parliamentary debates and press conferences.
“We know that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and its bhakts have nursed for a long time the desire to usher in a Presidential form of government,” Chidambaram tweeted on Sunday. “A Presidential form of government will entrench ‘majoritarianism’ in the country and pluralism will be killed.”
Meanwhile, the BJP released its party manifesto for Himachal Pradesh on Sunday in which it promised to implement the Uniform Civil Code. Besides implementing the code, the BJP also said that all Waqf properties in the state will be investigated under a judicial commission and their “illegal usages” will be stopped.
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