THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan went on the offensive against the Congress state unit, which is in disarray following the local body poll debacle, accusing that the Muslim League is hijacking that party. The CM’s Facebook post was based on reports that the League has demanded the replacement of KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran. “It’s rare in politics that a party’s leadership is chosen by another party. After the local body elections, Muslim League seems to be taking over the leadership of the UDF.
Has the League turned out to be the one which can comment on internal affairs of the Congress party and decide who to lead that party?” he said. “Open statements of the League and the Congress reveal that the former could convince the Congress of the alliance with religious and communal parties notwithstanding the opposition from the INC national leadership. Stenchy discussions are coming out from the UDF on the alliance with communal forces like Jama’at-e- Islami.
The demand to remove the Congress state president is a continuation of that. “Congress has weakened to such a level that it is unable to select its leader or decide its politics. The Congress party’s compromises for a few votes is to be blamed for this.
The UDF has become irrelevant. The statements of ally leaders reveal that nothing can be expected from the UDF which has lost its secularist and democratic values,” the CM wrote. The CM’s remarks, however, brought some sense of unity in the UDF when senior leaders took a break from the blame game to counter the allegation in which they saw a communal colour.
CM’s FB post was cheap, says Chennithala
At the media briefing after Saturday’s UDF meeting, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said “the CM’s Facebook post was cheap and aimed at creating communal polarisation”. IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty, MP, rejected the allegation and doubted whether the LDF was playing the communal card. “The League would never intervene in another party’s internal affairs,” he said. Chennithala said the CM and his front were trying to create a communal divide in the state for their political gains.
“It started from the time of the Sabarimala agitation. CPM strategy is to help BJP prosper at the cost of the UDF. They want the BJP to become the main Opposition,” he said. Chennithala said there were faults on the part of the UDF in facing the election. They will be examined and corrected. There were limitations on campaigning due to Covid-19 and also those of an opposition party. “The government is neck deep in corruption. The LDF’s claim that it can be countered with the LSG poll result is meaningless. People’s opinion against this government will be reflected in the assembly polls,” he said.