THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fascism should be defined through people’s lives, not with someone’s theory, says veteran leader V.S. Achuthanandan. “Fascism should be stopped for the betterment of people. BJP is a party with a fascist strategy. But they are at the initial phase of dictatorship tendency. According to text book logic, once they reach the point of implementation, they can be called fascists”, he said.

He was talking after inaugurating a seminar on ‘Liberalism and Fascism’ organized by Citizens Network for Social Defense. The veteran leader’s speech is an indirect criticism aimed at Prakash Karat.

“There is no relevance in debating whether BJP is a party that follows fascism or dictatorship. They have always followed fascist strategy in India. They are trying to bend the system and nation according to their will and values. Divide and rule is their basic idea of politics. They are spreading blind nationalism and communalism. They kill people with a different opinion. The obliterate dalits and people that follow other faiths. They are against the idea of equality. All these are signs of fascism. Fascism is difficult to stop once it’s a fully grown tree. It should be nipped in the bud”, Achuthanandan said.

“BJP is a fascist party while Congress is a liberal bourgeois party”, said Dr. Prabhath Patnaik in his speech. CNSD Executive Director N. Padmanabhan presided the function. A portrait of V.S. Achuthanandan was also unveiled on the stage.