Sharad Yadav appeals to Congress to take lead in forging Opposition unity, says there is 'undeclared Emergency' in country

Bhopal: Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav appealed to the Congress Thursday to take the lead in bringing together all opposition parties on a single platform to dislodge the BJP from power. Addressing a gathering, he said the country was currently reeling under an “undeclared democracy” in the BJP rule. “It (defeating the BJP) will not happen without opposition unity. Those getting 31 percent votes are ruling now because 69 percent votes stood divided. The Congress is the biggest opposition party and it should take responsibility to bring all parties on a single platform,” Yadav said while addressing the state-level Lokkranti Sammelan. [caption id=“attachment_4242633” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sharad Yadav. PTI[/caption] The former JD(U) leader also hinted that parties in the proposed Third Front would forge an alliance with the Congress at the national level and in Madhya Pradesh, where assembly polls were due later in 2018. “We will have an alliance with the Congress at the national level and also make an effort to have a coalition here (in Madhya Pradesh),” he said in an interaction with reporters after the function. He was responding to a query whether the parties under the proposed Third Front would stitch an alliance with the Congress. “An undeclared emergency is more dangerous than the declared one. At present, there is an undeclared emergency in the country,” he said, alleging that the governments in Madhya Pradesh and Centre were spreading lies. He said every section of the society was suffering under the BJP-led central government which had caused the “maximum damage” to the country in just four years. Yadav appealed to the people to vote in the upcoming elections with an objective to save the country and the Constitution and not on the lines of caste and religion. He said the BJP under leaders like (former prime minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani was different from the present one under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “It is time for the people to ask the government to fulfill the electoral promises made by them,” the socialist leader said. Yadav slammed the Modi-led government over the “non-fulfilment” of the electoral promise of creating 2 crore jobs and for demonetising higher currencies. Accusing the BJP of dividing the society, Yadav claimed, “Cows seem have become more important than their daughters and mothers.” He alleged that the Madhya Pradesh government had “ruined” the Narmada and the Tawa rivers by allowing illegal mining. Taking a dig at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s “Jan Ashirvad (blessing) Yatra”, Yadav dubbed the mass outreach campaign ‘Jan Abhishap (curse) Yatra’. “The BJP rule has become an ‘abhishap’ (curse) for the common people,” he claimed. Yadav said he had coined two slogans, “BJP Bhagao - Desh Bachao” and “Modi Hatao Samvidhan Bachao”. He claimed that 102 people had died in mob lynching incidents in the country under the BJP rule. Speaking on the occasion, Bahujan Sangharsh Dal (BSD) president Phool Singh Baraiya alleged, “Most of the slaughter-houses exporting beef abroad are run by Hindus.” He dared the BJP governments to cancel the licenses of these facilities. Congress leader and former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit and Communist leaders from Madhya Pradesh also attended the convention.