KOZHIKODE: Regrettably, some people in the state are echoing the stance of Zionists and imperialists that those who are fighting for the rights of the Palestine people are terrorists, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Inaugurating the Palestine Solidarity Rally organised by the CPM in Kozhikode on Saturday, Pinarayi said former Palestine Liberation Organisation chief Yasser Arafat was the leader of the Palestinian freedom struggle on the lines of Gandhiji and Nehru for India. To the Western media and Zionists, he was a terrorist, he said.
He said the Iranian fighters who defeated the US, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and Saddam Hussein who refused to bow down before America were terrorists for imperialists. “We hear the anti-human Yankee stand from certain people here,” he said. It may be recalled that Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s remark at the IUML rally that the attack on Israel by Hamas was a terror act had sparked a controversy.
BJP govt backing aggressor, says CM
The CPM cited the statement as an example of Congress’s pro-Israel approach. The CM said what is happening in West Asia is not a war between two countries. “It is aggression from a group to completely wipe out another group. What the people of Palestine are doing is to resist the genocide,” he said. The BJP government in the country is supporting the aggressor.
“It is not surprising that the BJP is taking such a stand. Israel is driven by a motive of genocide as happened in Germany under Hitler. The Sangh Parivar is led by a similar mindset. There is an unseen link of Nazism that acts as a bond between Israel and Sangh Parivar,” he said. Pinarayi said the affection shown by Sangh Parivar should not be interpreted as the love of the people of India.
“India always stood for the people of Palestine,” he said adding that BJP’s approach should not be projected as the stand of the Indian government. Indirectly referring to the IUML’s unwillingness to attend the rally, Pinarayi said the party knew what would happen when the invitation was extended to them. “We have no ill feeling towards them,” he said.
CPM faces flak from Shibu Baby John
RSP state secretary Shibu Baby John criticised CPM for inviting only IUML to the Palestine solidarity rally, alleging that the move appeared to be an attempt to exploit the Palestine issue for communal purposes.
In a Facebook post, Shibu compared CPM to vultures capitalising on disasters, contrasting it with the unity displayed by Left bodies in a similar meeting in New Delhi.
His criticism came in response to CPM’s decision to exclusively invite IUML to their solidarity event in Kozhikode. Shibu accused CPM of using the issue and the Muslim community for political gains while aiding BJP’s agenda.