Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said Tuesday that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is "remote-controlling" the Narendra Modi government, with secularism and the Constitution being pushed aside.
He made these remarks during his introductory speech at the 2nd A B Bardhan Memorial Lecture.
He also batted for the coming together of the Left and other secular parties to challenge the BJP.
"Secularism and the Indian Constitution have been pushed aside so that the hidden agenda of neo-liberal, divisive and anti-constitutional policies can be adopted and practised," alleged Reddy.
He also made a mention of former French President Francois Hollande's claim on the Rafale deal, saying it is a scam.
Speaking on "Defense of Secularism and Constitution", Reddy said when the country is facing the fifth and final year of Modi rule, the very idea of secular and pluralistic India is under severe threat with efforts being made to turn it into a "Hindu Rastra".
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Despite having differences on political issues and on economic policy matters with the Congress, the CPI had invited former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as chief guest for the event.
"In spite of ideological, political differences as we belong to different political parties, major secular parties and Left need to be a part of board platform to fight fascistic trends and defend secularism, democracy and Constitution. Hence we invited Dr. Singh as chief guest for our function," said Reddy.