CPI (ML) Liberation convention: Arundhati Roy calls for 'anti-Fascist' grouping of opposition parties

PATNA: Author and social activist Arundhati Roy Friday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and stressed the need for forging an "anti-Fascist" grouping of opposition parties.

Roy was in the Bihar capital for addressing a convention organized by the CPI (ML) Liberation, which is a part of the multi-party 'Mahagathbandhan' but supports the Nitish Kumar government in the state from the outside.

"The country is run by four people. Two of them happen to be buyers and the rest two are sellers. All of them belong to Gujarat," said the writer evoking applause from the crowd.

She was obviously referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.

She said "Modi ji thinks that he need not speak about Adani, since the common people should remain ever thankful to him for five kilograms of ration. But the Hindenburg report speaks about a scam involving 100 billion dollars. It is the biggest corporate scam in the country."

Referring to the alleged proximity of the business tycoon with the prime minister, she said "Earlier, Modi ji used to travel by Adani's aircraft. Now, Adani travels with Modi ji in the latter's plane."

"The farm laws had been brought to benefit Adani and his ilk, which is evident from the fact that his warehouses had come up across the country," Roy said.

"No raids were ever conducted on properties owned by Adani. But BBC is paying the price for bringing to the fore the truth behind the Gujarat riots of 2002," she quipped and questioned the "silence of US and UK" over the Income Tax department's action against the international broadcaster.

Lavishing praise on CPI(ML) Liberation for taking a "stand against Fascism," she said it was essential to bring together all forces opposed to the "current capitalistic system, wherein five per cent people control 60 per cent of the nation's wealth."

"It is good that different political groups opposed to the current ruling dispensation are making an effort to come together. Hopefully, the energy of public movements will also be harnessed," said the celebrated author, who won the Booker for her debut novel "The God of Small Things" and has been actively associated with a number of human rights movements.

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The three-day CPI(ML) Liberation party Congress, which was inaugurated on Thursday, will conclude on Saturday.

The invitees on that day include Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren.