A. Vijayaraghavan. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
On Sunday, the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League flayed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] polit bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan’s purported statement that “fundamentalist votes” had catalysed the back-to-back victories of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
Mr. Vijayaraghavan sparked controversy while inaugurating the CPI(M)‘s Wayanad district conference last week by stating that those at the vanguard of Ms. Vadra’s election rallies included “extreme elements espousing communalist agenda and terrorists”.
He also alleged that the “worst fundamentalist” groups helped catapult Mr Gandhi to victory in Wayanad. “Otherwise, how would both of them win?” he asked.
At a press conference at Indira Bhavan, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal, MP, said Mr Vijayaraghavan’s views dovetailed with that of the Sangh Parivar.
“The BJP appears to have contracted the CPI(M) to denigrate Mr Gandhi and Ms Vadra in Kerala. Mr Vijayaraghavan is pursuing the BJP’s communally divisive agenda in the State. However, the CPI(M) ‘s dangerous political gambit would come at a heavy political cost for the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF)“, he said.
Mr Venugopal claimed that CPI(M) votes had flowed to the Congress in the Wayanad LS polls.
“For one, both Mr Gandhi and later Ms Vadra secured a significant lead in Thirunelli Panchayat, a CPI(M) stronghold where the party usually led by 5000 to 6000 votes. The CPI(M) is petrified that its base is eroding. It has faced setbacks in its strongholds in Alappuzha. Hence, the party has resorted to majoritarian communal tactics to shore up its traditional base”, he added.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also held the CPI(M) accountable for Mr Viajayaraghavan’s remarks.
Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, IUML national general secretary P. K. Kunhalikutty, MLA, accused the CPI(M) of playing the Sangh Parivar brand of majority communalism for electoral dividends.
He said Mr. Vijayaraghavan had “cruelly and heinously” belittled the democratic mandate of Wayanad voters. “Communally divisive politics will find no traction in secular, democratic and progressive Kerala”, he added.
Published – December 22, 2024 12:13 pm IST