MANJESHWAR: The UDF and the BJP are not talking politics but indulging in name-calling and character assassination, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was speaking at an election rally for LDF candidate M Shankar Rai at Khateeb Nagar near Kumbla.
For both the UDF and the BJP, the faith of Rai is the issue, said Pinarayi.
He came down hard on Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala for calling Rai a “fake Hindu”. “Who has bestowed the freehold right of Hindus on the leader of Opposition,” the chief minister said.
During electioneering here on Tuesday (Oct 8), Chennithala said the LDF candidate was a disciple of the BJP candidate Ravisha Tantri Kuntar, and both were ‘fake Hindus’.
Congress retorts to Chennithala-bashing
The Congress given a tit-for-tat response, with Chennithala saying Pinarayi had lost his cool when the truth came out. “Who has given the free hold rights of a Renaissance leader to Pinarayi,” he said.
KPCC chief Mullappally Ramachandran said the chief minister’s remarks are aimed at creating communal polarisation “Chief Minister and the CPM state secretary have different opinions on the Sabarimala issue. Do the five Left candidates share a common opinion on the Sabarimala issue,” asked Mullappally while speaking at the Congress election convention at Vattiyoorkavu.