CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said removing Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power was the 'patriotic duty' of Indians to defend the constitutional order and democratic rights.

Reminding the controversy over a BBC documentary on Modi and the Gujarat riots, Yechury said that nowadays any criticism of the prime minister is treated as an anti-national comment.

"If you are questioning the prime minister, you are anti-national....Any question of Modi is anti-national and any question of Adani is anti-national,” said Yechury on the final day of Kerala CPM's 'People's Resistance March' here on Saturday.

He said the country should respond to slogans on Modi as it had in the past when the slogan, 'India is Indira and Indira is India', was raised. “India is neither Indira nor Modi-Adani,” he said.

“And that (removing the Modi government) is the final test of Indian nationalism and that is the final test of whether we are for the interest of India or enemies of the country.”

JPC on 'Adani scam'
Yechury lambasted the BJP-led Centre for not allowing a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the alleged "Adani scam". He said the intention was to hide the 'communal corporate nexus' between PM Modi and the group.

“If there is nothing wrong, why are they not allowing a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the said issue? The JPC, according to Parliamentary norms, will be headed by the party that has the maximum number of MPs, which is BJP,” he said while adding that still, the ruling front was afraid of the Committee.