THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Left parties continued to cash in on the Congress' debacle in the local body polls by attempting to drive a wedge between the IUML and Congress.
Two days after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan set the ball rolling on Saturday by saying that the IUML was making decisions in the UDF and Congress, a claim which was subscribed by the BJP, the CPM state acting secretary A Vijayaraghavan on Monday said what the CM said regarding the IUML and Congress was true.
He also clarified that the CM’s statements were not about Muslims. "The CM spoke about the political development within the Congress and the IUML and not about Muslims. IUML is playing the communal card. On one side, it has been allying with Sangh Parivar forces while on the other, it is seeking the support of communal outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami. This is a clear case of playing communal politics. The CM has tried to expose this. It has nothing to do with Muslims," he said.
CPI leader Benoy Viswam said the political stance of IUML is helpful for Sangh Parivar forces in Kerala. "It is true that the IUML has been trying to take over the leadership of the UDF from the Congress for quite some time. Congress has now simply become a crowd without a leader," he said.
Attacks keep coming
With each passing day, more political leaders have been coming forward to criticise the stance of IUML. Earlier, in a statement similar to the CM’s, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan had said the IUML had become more dominant in the UDF than the Congress.