KOZHIKODE : Cornered on the absence of party flags at Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow in Kalpetta, the Congress and IUML hit back at the CPM, alleging that it was raking up an issue that is dear to the BJP. Leaders of both parties asked the CPM to mind its own business instead of dictating how the UDF should carry out its election work.
Addressing a press conference in Kochi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sought to know whether the Congress was intimidated by the BJP, prompting it to shy away from displaying its flag proudly. “Has the Congress reached a stage where it hesitates to proudly display its flag? Is it yielding to the pressure exerted by the Sangh parivar?” he asked. The CM also asked whether the Congress had decided to drop the IUML’s green flag after Amit Shah referred to it as the Pakistani flag following Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in Wayanad in 2019.
“Is this the cowardice of the Congress? The Congress needs the votes of the IUML, but not its flag. Why is it taking such a stand? Why has the Congress plunged to the state of announcing untouchability of its own party flag?” asked the CM. CPM state secretary M V Govindan also blasted the Congress on the flag issue.
Hitting back at the CPM, IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty asked whether the CPM can hoist its flag independently in any part of India. At a rally in Thodupuzha, he said tying the flags together is not an issue and the UDF is fighting elections unitedly. “ The LDF should have shown the courtesy of not fielding a candidate against Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
IUML state general secretary P M A Salam quipped that the party is fighting to protect the national flag while the CPM is struggling to retain its national party status. In a Facebook post, Salam said the CPM leaders’ remarks stem from the desperation of losing an occasion to help the BJP ensure the defeat of Rahul and Congress.
Pinarayi is trying to appease BJP, says Satheesan
Salam said his front is going by practical wisdom and not by sentimentalism.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan asked Pinarayi not to hold study classes for the UDF. “Let him do it at the AKG Centre,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. Satheesan said that during the last Lok Sabha election it was the BJP which raised the controversy on the green flag linking it to Pakistan. But this time, it is the turn of the CPM, he said.
Satheesan said Pinarayi is trying to appease the BJP so as to escape from the controversy related to the CMRL. He added that the CPM’s move to tarnish the image of Rahul Gandhi will not succeed.