Ahead of Monday's meeting of INDIA bloc constituents, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby has sought clarification from the Congress over allegations made during the Kerala assembly election campaign that the Left party had an understanding with the BJP.
According to sources, Baby wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, strongly criticising the party's attacks on the CPI(M). Copies of the letter were also sent to other INDIA bloc partners.
An opposition leader who received the letter said Baby argued that the allegations, repeatedly made by senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Kharge, went beyond routine electoral rhetoric and struck at the basis of the opposition alliance formed to jointly challenge the BJP.
Referring to the Congress campaign in Kerala, the CPI(M) leader accused the Congress of running a "systematic campaign" alleging that the Left and the BJP had reached a political arrangement and that the then chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan enjoyed a special understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Such charges, he said, were incompatible with the spirit of cooperation that underpinned the INDIA bloc.
Baby also pointed out that the INDIA bloc was constituted as a broad platform to politically fight the BJP, and parties of diverse ideologies and programmes who are electoral rivals in several states came together for this purpose, adding that the CPI(M) had worked consistently since the alliance's inception in 2023 to strengthen opposition unity.
Questioning the Congress' position, he noted that the party simultaneously partnered with the CPI(M) at the national level while accusing it of collusion with the BJP in Kerala, and said it cannot be taken lightly.
Warning that the issue had implications for opposition cohesion, Baby said the Congress leadership needed to "clear the air" on what he termed "disruptive moves" before the June 8 INDIA bloc meeting.
"Unless these matters are clarified, the very purpose of the INDIA bloc would be in question," Baby said in the letter.
Even as it raised the matter, the CPI(M) reiterated its commitment to opposition coordination. Baby said the party would continue to work with INDIA bloc partners and other opposition parties inside Parliament to resist what he described as the Modi government's "authoritarian, communal and anti-people policies".
This is not the first time the CPI(M) has flagged the issue.
Since the conclusion of the Kerala assembly elections, on several occasions, Baby has repeatedly criticised the Congress for alleging a tacit understanding between the Left and the BJP, arguing that such charges undermine the credibility of the opposition alliance.
Senior leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc are scheduled to meet in the national capital Monday to discuss their joint strategy to take on the BJP-led government and reinforce opposition unity.
TMC supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge are among those likely to attend the meeting as per sources.
The DMK and the AAP are unlikely to attend the meeting.
(With inputs from PTI)
