Alleging that the Union government was deleting anti-BJP votes under the guise of SIR, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in an usual appeal, called on Left parties to join hands with the Congress in the fight against PM Narendra Modi.

Praising the Left for fighting for the rights of the poor, the CM said Prime Minister Modi‘s defeat would be the victory of Communists.

Reddy called Prime Minister Modi the most “dangerous person” for the country and accused the BJP of adopting new tactics to win elections.

Speaking at a memorial meeting of Communist leader Sarampalli Malla Reddy in Hyderabad, the CM said that there was a conspiracy to delete one crore votes in Telangana. “Election Commission is functioning at the behest of the BJP, removing anti-BJP votes booth-wise,’’ he said.

Reddy had earlier warned that names of lakhs of voters in the state were going to be deleted during the SIR.

The CM questioned Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) silence over the issue.

The CM said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was adopting new tactics to win the election after failing to win the trust of the people. “The Union government is deleting anti-BJP votes under the guise of SIR. People from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and minorities are the main targets,’’ he said.

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‘Replicating Bengal strategy’

Reddy accused the BJP of replicating the “West Bengal strategy” in Telangana by systematically removing anti-BJP votes in every polling booth.

“The BJP is conspiring to delete one crore votes in Telangana. Private agencies are also engaged in conducting surveys and deleting votes,” he alleged.

The CM accused the BJP of exploiting the Elections Commission to execute “its political agenda”.

Appealing to the Communist parties to support the Congress’s fight against the alleged vote theft, the CM asserted PM Modi’s defeat would be the victory of Communists.

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“We should be united and fight against Modi. Elections and fundamental rights of the poor are two different aspects,” the CM said as he commended the Communists who, he said, have long been fighting for the rights of the poor. “The ‘Red Flag’ gives the poor a sense of reassurance and confidence,” he said.

The CM said that the Congress has addressed every issue raised by the Communists. “Communists fought for the rights of the landless poor to receive minimum wages. It was the Congress that enacted the Minimum Wages Act. The Left parties fought for the principle of ‘land to the tiller’ and the Congress government distributed 24.56 lakh acres of assigned land,” he said.

“As much as 10 lakh acres are currently owned by Adivasis. This represents the Congress’s solution to the struggles waged by Communists. The Congress provided employment through the Employment Guarantee Act and enacted the Food Security Act,’’ he added.

The CM remembered the services rendered by Sarampalli Malla Reddy who dedicated his life to the cause of farmers.