CPI general secretary D. Raja.
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin
Ahead of its ‘Badlaav Zaroori Hai’ rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on September 1, the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday (August 27, 2026) launched a broadside at the Narendra Modi-led government, accusing it of failing to address economic distress, weakening democratic institutions, undermining federalism, and responding to public dissent with repression rather than engagement.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Ajoy Bhawan in the national capital, CPI general secretary D. Raja said the country was facing multiple crises, including unemployment, rising prices, declining purchasing power, growing inequality, and pressure on public education and healthcare systems. He said farmers continued to demand a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), while workers faced increasing insecurity and students were being subjected to police action for raising legitimate concerns.
Troubling trend
Referring to recent protests by students and youth across the country, Mr. Raja said the government had failed to address concerns over jobs, education and examination-related controversies. He pointed to police action against student protesters in Delhi, Jharkhand and Bihar as signs of a troubling trend.
“The incidents of violence against students are particularly serious because they demonstrate how the ordinary exercise of democratic rights can be treated as a law-and-order threat by the BJP,” Mr. Raja said.
“Students protesting peacefully should not have to fear police action, detention or physical injury,” he added, while also criticising BJP leaders for allegedly branding protesters as ‘dimagi Naxals’.
The CPI leader also criticised what he described as the weakening of public education, arguing that inadequate investment in government schools disproportionately affected children from poor and working-class families. He contrasted the situation with Kerala, where Left governments had prioritised public education and healthcare.
BJP’s treatment of Parliament
Regarding the Centre’s tactics in Parliament, Mr. Raja accused the BJP of using its political and institutional dominance to push through contentious measures, including proposals relating to delimitation and simultaneous polls. He also alleged that attempts were being made to weaken Opposition parties through defections and political engineering.
“A determined Opposition, however, could prevent the government from treating Parliament as a rubber stamp,” Mr. Raja said.
The CPI expressed concerns over the impact of delimitation on the federal balance, opposed the proposal to conduct all elections together, and reiterated demands for transparency over Ayodhya’s Ram Temple donations and protection of the rights of Dalits, adivasis, minorities, farmers and workers.
Mr. Raja said the September 1 rally would bring together students, youth, workers, farmers, women and marginalised communities to demand what the party described as a political alternative and a change in the direction of governance.
Published – August 27, 2026 05:14 pm IST
