With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) heading for a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly polls, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) founder Vaiko on Tuesday lauded the Arvind Kejriwal-founded party for ‘sweeping away’ the BJP and demanded that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government should step down.
“People have staged a silent democratic revolution. They have taught a lesson to the Hindutva forces and the Modi government which has been supporting them,” Mr. Vaiko said.
Charging NDA government with acting for the interests of domestic and international corporates, Mr. Vaiko said AAP’s victory showed that democracy crowns common man, with people ’rejecting’ the BJP government in just eight months of its existence.
“The Narendra Modi government, which has lost the support of people, should step down. To further enhance the pride of Indian democracy, fresh elections should be held,” he said while claiming that an “unusual situation” was prevailing in the country after the Emergency to back his demand for fresh polls.
Slamming the Hindutva forces for their activities including efforts to establish temples of Nathuram Godse, assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, he said that continuation of the BJP government will result in fascism.
In a statement here, Mr. Vaiko, whose party was a former ally of BJP, urged all progressive democratic forces to join hands to unseat the Modi government.
BJP's Tamil Nadu ally PMK also greeted Kejriwal for his victory, but party founder S Ramadoss wished that the former did not repeat the 'earlier mistake', when he had resigned after 49 days in office.
Kejriwal should handle the victory with responsibility: Ramadoss
The reason for AAP’s victory is 'simple,' as people were yearning for change due to "corruption" in government administration, Ramadoss said in a statement here.
"Kejriwal realised and respected feelings of the people. And has therefore handed over the reigns to him," he said.
Dr. Ramadoss said Mr. Kejriwal should handle the victory with responsibility and that he should not "commit the mistake done earlier."
With elections to Tamil Nadu Assembly a year away, Dr. Ramadoss said people of the state were in a similar mood, desiring change, and expected that to resonate in the hustings then.
AAP win shows secularism still important to India: Kanimozhi
DMK Parliamentary Party Leader Kanimozhi on Tuesday said that the Delhi Assembly poll results showed that the country still holds secularism as vital.
“I think, in a way it is an unexpected result, I mean, this kind of margin, this kind of victory, they have just swept the polls and we have to think about it.
“One major thing is that the country still thinks secularism is very important,” she told reporters here.
Asked whether the election results was a referendum on the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, she said that it was too early to comment on it.
