THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The CPM has condemned the attacks on the minority Hindu community and its places of worship in Bangladesh. The party politburo (PB) has urged the interim government in Bangladesh to address the issue immediately. The PB further demanded Indian government’s intervention to prevent fundamentalist forces targeting minorities in the neighbouring country.
The Sangh parivar organisations have alleged that the Left parties remained silent on the attacks on the Hindu community, while it ‘celebrated’ the declaration of its solidarity with Palestine.
According to insiders in the CPM, it is a calculated move by the party considering the prevailing political and social situation in India. “The 2024 Lok Sabha election result was an eye-opener for the Kerala CPM. In West Bengal too, the scenario remained the same,” a CPM central committee member told TNIE.
“We thought our core vote bank (Hindu secular votes) was intact in Kerala. Similarly, in Bengal, we were trying to win back the lost vote bank. However, we realised there was an erosion of majority community votes, with some party members even voting for the BJP in Kerala. Both in Bengal and Kerala, the BJP-Sangh parivar campaign that the CPM is appeasing the Muslim community worked against us.
Though minority protection is a declared policy, we learnt that we need to take into account the changing political scenario too,” the CC member said. The latest editorial of the CPM’s official organ ‘People’s Democracy’ came down heavily on the Jamaat-e Islami and its student wing for attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh. It is learnt that the CPM’s sudden response was accelerated by the statement of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Oposition in the WB assembly, that one crore Hindus from Bangladesh will come to India.
“The student movement in Bangladesh was a spontaneous response against the dictatorship of Sheikh Hasina,” CPM PB member M A Baby, who is in charge of the party’s foreign affairs, told TNIE.
‘PB statement has nothing to do with Hindu placation’
“However, the unruly fundamentalist elements like Jamaat-e-Islami are using the opportunity. Atrocities are being carried out against 8.9% of Hindus living in Chittagong,” he said.
Meanwhile, the CPM central leadership insisted that the PB communique has nothing to do with any “correctional path”, and that the allegations of Muslim appeasement have nothing to do with it. “The PB communique was just about the developments there. It has nothing to do with Hindu appeasement,” said the leadership. But, political commentator Hamid Chendamangalam said the PB statement, which talks in length about the Hindus being attacked, itself is a sign of the party’s change in stand.
“The Palestine solidarity events of the CPM backfired in the political market. CPM had invited the Muslim clergy for these and even allowed them to perform namaz there. But, this backfired. Now, they realise that they have to win back the Hindu votes,” he said.
Jamaat-e-Islami all India general secretary T Arif Ali refused to comment.
