Congress, secular parties must unite, says ex-PM
Gowda alleged that the BJP government was trying to make Muslims second-grade citizens.
Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has urged all secular-minded regional parties and the Congress to work out a common strategy to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and its policies.
Mr Gowda, who was addressing a party rally here Thursday said, “We have faltered somewhere and the country is facing a hard time. In a bid to save the country from distress and avoid further damage to its secular fabric, all secular-minded parties and the Congress have to formulate a common strategy.”
Admitting that the JD(S) was a small party, Mr Gowda said that the BJP was promulgating several laws only on the basis of its numbers in Parliament. Everyone had now realised the adverse effects of these laws, he said.
Mr Gowda alleged that the BJP government was trying to make Muslims second-grade citizens and said that there were over 40 crore Muslims in India and wondered where they would go.
“Our party workers should have the courage to protest even at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. I alone sitting there (New Delhi) will have no impact. The greatest danger to the country is the CAA and the proposed NCR and NPR,” he said.