Prime Minister Narendra Modi "will have to pay a heavy price in the coming days" for ignoring rising cases of corruption involving BJP leaders, the CPI-M warned on Thursday.
"There should be no surprise at the corruption and the rapidity with which it has surfaced in BJP-led governments, both at the centre and in the states," said an editorial in CPI-M journal "People's Democracy".
"Corruption is inbuilt in the neo-liberal regime which has spawned a big business-politician-bureaucrat nexus. Crony capitalism is inherent in such a set-up," it said.
"In fact, with the more aggressive push for neo-liberal policies and privatisation the scope for corruption and loot has increased manifold," added the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
"Modi has been wilfully blind to this phenomenon. He will have to pay a heavy price for this in the coming days."
The editorial, titled 'Spreading Stain of Corruption', referring to the allegations of corruption and impropriety hurled against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Maharashta BJP ministers Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde.
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The journal said the "stain of corruption, nepotism and crony capitalism is enveloping the Modi government and the BJP state governments".
It pointed out how Modi and the BJP had made the massive corruption under the UPA government their main plank in the Lok Sabha election campaign.
"Modi had promised to put an end to the loot and corruption under Congress rule...
"The prime minister has doggedly refused to respond to the charges against his cabinet colleague and both the prime minister and the BJP leadership are out to defend and justify her wrongdoing."