KANNUR: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was at his blistering best in the last 15 minutes of his 90-minute inaugural speech delivered at the Kannur district conference of the CPM on Friday, taking on the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) which has been up in arms against the government’s move to entrust the Waqf Board appointments with the Public Service Commission (PSC).
“Muslim League should first decide whether it is a political party or a religious organisation,” Pinarayi said. “Who gave it the right to represent the entire Muslim community? The government is neither adamant nor has a special interest in the issue. Other Muslim bodies, including the Samastha and Kanthapuram group, are convinced about our intentions. Only the League isn’t. Who wants its consent?” he said.
At the start of his one-and-half hour speech, Pinarayi touched on several subjects, including capitalism, class struggle, threats against secularism, corporatisation of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, collapse of public sector and a weakening Congress. When it started seeming like a lecture, the CM switched gears.
“We will hold discussions with religious organisations before implementing the decision. As of now, we have not taken any decision. Whatever the issues, they will be resolved through amicable discussions,” said Pinarayi. “However, if the League starts posing as representatives of the entire Muslim community, we cannot accept it. Our party too has considerable number of Muslims. Look at the LDF’s graph in districts like Malappuram. You can see the difference,” he said.
‘Cong weak to fight BJP’
The CM said Congress will not be able to lead the fight against the NDA government as they share the same policies. “People of the country do not endorse the idea of Congress as an alternative force against BJP. To form a united front against BJP, regional parties from various states should unite,” he said. He said Left politics gains more importance and relevance in the national context.
SilverLine project
On the recent protests against SilverLine, the ambitious Rs 64,000-crore semi-high speed rail corridor project, Pinarayi said UDF and BJP here have been trying to taint the government’s image using anything they can get. “Now, they are protesting against the K-Rail project. Once it is completed, a persons will be able to travel from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in four hours. It will change the face of the state’s economy. However, they are saying it should not be implemented now. If not now, then when?” he wondered.
League spreading Islamist terrorism: Kodiyeri
KANNUR: Like RSS which spreads Hindutva terrorism, Muslim League also has started spreading Islamist terrorism, said CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Speaking to reporters at the venue of CPM district conference at Madayi on Friday, he said that the League is deliberately trying to create communal divide in society. It is the ideology of Jamaat-e-Islami which leads Muslim League now.