Former CPM general-secretary Prakash Karat draws parallels between Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel and Narendra Modi in India

On Tuesday, Prakash Karat, the former general secretary of the CPM, compared the far-right governments of Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel with Narendra Modi in India. He also promised to bolster the domestic opposition to Hindutva forces in order to prevent the emergence of neo-fascism.

In honor of the 175th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto's publication and the establishment of the Communist Party of India, the CPM politburo member was speaking at a party function here. In keeping with India's declared stance in favor of negotiations leading to the creation of two sovereign states, Palestine and Israel, he supported calls for an end to Israel's offensive in Gaza and for Palestine's independence.

"Comrades, we will be assaulted because of the prevalent Hindutva narrative in our nation today. "You're giving terrorists support." Karat remarked, "Because this [Modi] government labels anyone who disagrees with them as terrorists anyway."

"Everyone in Kashmir is a terrorist." Terrorists are journalists who criticize the government. Terrorists are those who support opposition parties or leaders. They will therefore portray us as advocates of terrorism. However, that shouldn't stop us," he continued.

Following Hamas incursions into Israel, Modi had voiced support for the country.

Foreign policy, according to Karat, is merely a mirror or extension of the regime's internal policies, and the struggle against the Modi government is one against its policies.

"Like Israel is trying to establish a Jewish state, their domestic policy is to target the minorities, to turn them into second-class citizens, and to establish a Hindu Rashtra," the speaker stated.

"Therefore, we are fighting the Modi government today, its assault on federalism, democracy, secularism, the Constitution, and the democratic rights of the Opposition as a whole," the 75-year-old continued. It's heading in the direction of neo-fascism... As I mentioned, it is what is taking place in Israel.

Ironically, the Netanyahu government was dealing with massive demonstrations from the Israeli public just prior to this Hamas attack. "It was a big movement because Netanyahu was trying to pass laws to curb the judiciary and control the judiciary," he said.

"What is this government's role in this? Adhering to his slogan that Netanyahu and Modi are two sides of the same proverbial coin, he continued, "They want to control not only the judiciary but also the media... they want to control the Parliament, they want to control everything." "So, we have an authoritarian Hindutva regime already, and if they continue unchecked and unopposed, it will eventually turn into a kind of neo-fascism."

He charged that pro-Hindutva groups in India were being supported by the US establishment and the Joe Biden administration.