Kolkata, Oct 20 West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for political parties to unite in national interest, and said any change of government in the country must take place through a democratic process.
Adhikari also said India’s democratic institutions and electoral processes must be respected.
“This is very much needed. In order to change a government or a political party in the country, we should follow the election process. This is a big democratic country,” the CM said here.
“This is not Bangladesh that suddenly some people can barge into the president’s palace and parliament. It does not happen in India; 80 per cent of the common people here will protest against it. What PM has said is for democracy,” he said.
Participating in Vijaya Dashami celebrations in New Delhi, Modi on Tuesday reached out to political parties, urging all to join hands in national interest and to fulfil the aspirations of the people, amidst the government’s efforts to build consensus for the passage of the delimitation-linked Women’s Reservation Bill.
The PM also called upon citizens to adopt a ‘Nation First’ pledge to jointly identify and defeat the enemies of “Maa Bharati”.
Modi said the forces that inflict harm on the country, the people who divide society and the mindset “that hates our culture, all these are the enemies of the nation”.
The prime minister’s comments come in the backdrop of protests by the opposition and the Cockroach Janta Party, seeking resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Adhikari also said India was making progress on the economic and defence fronts, citing the country’s growing role in the global defence market.
“Today, the country is advancing. Earlier, we used to purchase equipment from abroad. But now, things have changed. Today, more than 50 countries are purchasing defence equipment from India,” he asserted.
“In 2014, India was in the 12th place in the global economy. Now, we have climbed to the fourth place and moving forward to become the third,” the CM added.
(PTI News)
