The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Bharatiya Janata Party are fuelling intolerance across the country, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, president of the Delhi Mahila Congress, has said.
She was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Ma Nishada’ event, organised by the Kerala Students Union (KSU) against fascist tendencies on campuses, here on Friday.
She said the CPI(M), which was in power for several years in West Bengal and Tripura, had lost all its base there as they had strangled democracy. “There is a need for a national-level campaign against the CPI (M)’s fascism. The KSU should follow the footsteps of Gandhi in launching a strong campaign against the Students Federation of India (SFI) in Kerala’s colleges,” she said.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala accused the SFI of destroying democracy on the State’s campuses. “We have to put an end to the SFI’s violence in colleges. Our campuses should be spaces for democratic ideas,” he said.
Congress Working Committee member Oommen Chandy said democracy was now absent in the campus elections in the State.