New Delhi, May 16

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's persistent attacks on the opposition alliance reveal the real phobia he harbours that a coalition government could replace his rule, the CPI-M has said.

"Not a day passes in this election campaign without Modi attacking the 'mahagatbandhan' or opposition alliance as a `mahamilavat' (great adulteration) and depicting them as a bunch of power hungry opportunists," said an editorial in the CPI-M journal "People's Democracy".

Modi has argued that a coalition government would jeopardise development, that a weak government cannot ensure national security and that the opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh and other places is an opportunist.

"Such a persistent attack on opposition alliance reveals the real phobia that Modi harbours about the prospects of a coalition government replacing his rule," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said in the editorial.

The editorial pointed out that coalition governments have been the norm, barring some exceptions, since 1977 and that such governments have provided stable administration and their record on "development" is not very different from other governments.

"Unlike what Modi claims, there is no reason to believe that a post-poll alliance based on a common minimum programme cannot form the basis of a stable government," it said.

"In 1998 and 1999, the BJP framed an agenda for the government after the elections to underpin a post-poll tie-up, the National Democratic Alliance."

Responding to charges that coalition governments would weaken Indian security operations, the editorial said the Modi government had worsened the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir where the number of terrorist attacks increased from 109 to 626 between 2014 and 2019 and the number of security personnel killed rose from 130 to 483.

"After all, it was a decisive government which had the BJP with a majority in the Lok Sabha that imposed the draconian policy of demonetization. No one has been held accountable for this disastrous step.

"What Modi is seeking to exercise is the spectre of a post-poll alliance which can form a secular coalition government at the Centre," the editorial said.

"What Modi exhibits through his rant against coalitions is the fear that such a coalition will replace him."

Modi's attacks on 'mahagatbandhan' betrays his fear: CPI-M