THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opening a fresh debate in political circles, CPM Politburo member M A Baby has come out in praise of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the successful completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Noticeably, the senior leader extended support to the yatra even as the CPM leadership stayed away from attending its valedictory in Srinagar.
A slew of Opposition leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja, were part of the yatra’s culmination on Monday. Though earlier there were indications that CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury would attend the same, the party chose to stay away, apparently considering the political situation in different states.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Baby said the yatra sent out the message of national integrity while questioning the very basis of Sangh Parivar's ideology.
Baby: Yatra real political move by Cong
A senior CPM leader said the last Politburo itself had decided not to attend the yatra since it’s not possible to go in for an alliance with the Congress at the national level. “The CPM has decided that state-level understandings can be made, as per the prevailing political situation in each state. So there’s nothing surprising about the CPM not turning up for the yatra,” the leader said In the Facebook post, Baby said the biggest challenge before Rahul would be whether he could revive the Congress from its corporate-appeasing, caste-dominant structure. “If not, history will record the yatra as an adventurous picnic or a mere futile exercise,” he said.
Baby termed the Bharat Jodo Yatra a real political move by the Indian National Congress after decades. “Congress had slipped into a decadent state. The party found itself on slippery grounds when faced with the wave of religious politics by the RSS. That’s when Rahul undertook this initiative that questioned the very foundation of RSS,” said Baby.
He, however, warned that Congress would not be able to take such politics forward without combining it with a thorough review of its basic policies. Referring to Congress leaders migrating to BJP, Baby said both parties have always maintained similar socio-political perspectives.
“There’s hardly any difference between those going to the Congress offices or to RSS shakhas as far as helping Adani-Ambanis in attaining their goals and championing the upper caste dominance are concerned. This is why KPCC president K Sudhakaran and other like-minded Congress leaders try to maintain BJP as a viable possibility,” he said.