MALAPPURAM: Amid reports of overtures from the CPM and public remonstrations by some of its leaders over rumblings within the Congress, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has tried to lay to rest speculation about its entry into the LDF.
The party’s state president, Panakkad Sadiqali Shihab Thangal, said on Saturday the party is an integral part of the Congress-led UDF. Reacting to recent comments of CPM state secretary M V Govindan that IUML is not a communal organisation, Thangal said it is not just the opinion of Govindan, it is the opinion of the people in Kerala. “Anyone who studies the history of IUML will know that it is not a communal organisation.” We doesn’t see Govindan’s comment as an invitation, he said. “He just mentioned a political fact. Nothing else should be read into the statement,” Thangal added.
On Friday, Muslim League’s Rajya Sabha member, P V Abdul Wahab had expressed his displeasure at Congress MPs not being present in the House when a controversial bill on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was put up for discussion. Wahab’s intervention in the RS had further intensified speculation about IUML’s move into the Left front.
Be more vigilant, Cong told
IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said the UCC has far-reaching implications. “Wahab’s statement in the RS should not generate any controversy as the Leader of the Opposition (V D Satheesan) has clarified that Congress MPs also spoke against the UCC in the House. However, Wahab has raised a serious concern. All secular parties, especially the Congress, should be vigilant in Parliament while discussing matters like the UCC in future,” Kunhalikutty said.
The state Congress leadership also played down the issue. Satheesan said Congress MPs Jebi Mather and H Hanumanthappa had opposed the bill in Parliament. “Union Minister Piyush Goyal interrupted Jebi’s statement against the UCC in Parliament. There is also a video of the incident that has emerged,” Satheesan said.
BJP comes out against CPM
T’Puram: A day after CPM state secretary M V Govindan sent a teaser to the IUML and certified that the latter is not a communal party, the BJP trained its gun on the CPM. BJP state president K Surendran said that Govindan’s statement was aimed at accommodating League into the LDF-fold. “There is no doubt that League is a communal party. Earlier, the LDF also took the same stand. EMS, E K Nayanar and V S Achuthanandan had also said that they were aiming to establish a non-League administration. Now what LDF is doing is to communally polarise the people. The majority community which is voting for the CPM won’t accept it,” he said.