Thiruvananthapuram, March 26 (IANS). Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday targeted Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, alleging that the Congress and its leaders have historically worked as the ‘B-team of the BJP’. He also rejected the allegations of ‘Communist Janata Party’ i.e. alleged CPI(M)-BJP nexus in the state.
Responding to Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegation about an ‘unholy alliance’ between the BJP and CPI(M) in Kerala, Chief Minister Vijayan said that in fact the Congress has been the party which has consistently adopted such stances, which has made the rise of the BJP possible in many states.
He accused the party of weakening broad anti-BJP alliances and fragmenting opposition unity at critical junctures.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Despite being a national leader, Rahul Gandhi does not understand the ground reality even at the level of local party workers.” He further said that they have failed to learn lessons from repeated political failures.
According to him, Rahul Gandhi’s political approach has often benefited the BJP in various states.
Pointing to the developments in Delhi, the Chief Minister said that while the BJP has filed legal cases against opposition leaders, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had raised questions as to why Kejriwal was not arrested when a minister in Arvind Kejriwal’s cabinet was detained.
Chief Minister Vijayan said that when the courts later acquitted Kejriwal, the incident proved embarrassing not only for the BJP but also for Rahul Gandhi.
He further alleged that the Congress failed to take any stance aimed at preventing the BJP’s victory in the Delhi elections, but instead targeted the Aam Aadmi Party, which had a stronger chance of winning electorally.
He said a similar pattern was seen in Haryana, where Congress’s aversion to broad alliances led to a split in non-BJP votes, which ultimately benefited the BJP.
Vijayan’s comments came in response to Rahul Gandhi’s virtual address from Delhi to the Congress-led UDF rally in Kozhikode on Wednesday.
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Minister Vijayan of adopting a ‘soft’ stance towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he is getting benefits which are not given to other non-Congress chief ministers. His statement indicates that a tacit alliance is being seen between CPI(M) and BJP in Kerala.
Rejecting these allegations, Chief Minister Vijayan reiterated that such claims are politically motivated, while the war of words between Congress and Left parties has intensified ahead of the assembly elections.
–IANS
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