KOZHIKODE: UDF leaders have come out strongly against CPM politburo member A Vijayaraghavan’s remarks that minority communal forces are behind the victory of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said the remark is aimed at igniting majority communalism. “What CPM is experimenting in Kerala is what the BJP is doing in other parts of the country. This reflects the CPM’s realisation that there is a drain in their vote bank,” he said.
IUML state secretary K M Shaji said CPM’s is a well-calculated move to create a communal division ahead of the assembly elections. “It is not a coincidence. Earlier, CPM district secretary P Mohanan made similar remarks and now it is Vijayaraghavan” he said.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said that Vijayaraghavan’s statements will create doubt among the public as to whether there is something seriously wrong with him. “Rahul and Priyanka got the majority votes even in the Tirunelli panchayat, a CPM- stronghold,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP state president K Surendran said that CPM is frantically trying to win back the support of the majority community. “But these efforts will not get the official support of the party,” he told reporters in Thrissur.