THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Terming Kerala as a haven for the Constitution, CPM leader Brinda Karat said that if Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comes to Kerala and repeats the slogan that Pinarayi Vijayan should be arrested, it would be perceived as a move to help the BJP.
In a conversation with TNIE, the politburo member, who is in the state capital to attend the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF), stressed that the CPM doesn’t agree with the suggestion of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on naming its leader Mamata Banerjee coordinator of the opposition INDIA bloc. Excerpts:
Have left parties stagnated after the general election?
Electorally, we have not improved our position. However, interventions by the CPM and other left parties on the most important issues facing people have been noteworthy. The major challenge before us today is to translate the public support into votes.
How do you view the growing concern among some partners that the Congress is not taking a proactive role in coordinating the activities of the INDIA bloc?
The INDIA bloc exists. It’s a necessary platform to fight the hegemony that the BJP wants to impose across the country. However, it is not a substitute to the role and ideologies of independent parties. As we saw in the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, electoral seat sharing policies will depend on the configuration of forces in particular states.
The Congress is trying to defend its base in states where they take on bloc constituents. By doing so they take their eyes off the BJP. Every party must defend its base. But you lose the plot when you attack a secular party. People will see you playing the BJP game.
That is leading to criticism of the Congress. But we don’t agree with the suggestion to appoint the TMC leader as the bloc coordinator. This would be disastrous. Anyway, there is no need for such a post.
Why is there a call for other parties to take the lead?
The INDIA bloc has not had a formal leader. Meetings are convened by Congress president [Mallikarjun] Khargeji as the senior-most leader who is based in Delhi. We also meet after holding consultation with parties. The CPM believes that there is no need for a leader.
After all, the bloc has no organisational structure. From the very beginning, the understanding was that for electoral seat sharing we will take into account the political configurations at the state level, with the main party taking the lead in consultations.
At the national level the CPM is espousing the cause of minorities. In Kerala, however, the party has being accused of Islamophobia. How do you respond to this contradiction?
This is politically motivated charge that is very far from reality. Kerala today presents an alternative path for the people of India, including minorities. The state, because of the Left, is a haven for the Constitution of India.
It’s a charge mainly raised by the Congress and the Muslim League?
The two are UDF constituents. Theirs is a politics that has forgotten that India and Kerala face grave danger from toxic communal-casteist forces led by the BJP. Their sole focus is the CPM. I don’t think that as far as facts are concerned, our record can be challenged by any of these parties.
The allegations were made against the backdrop of PB member A Vijayaraghavan’s remarks that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi won the Wayanad seat with the help of Muslim fringe elements. CM Pinarayi Vijayan endorsed the view.
The main focus of Vijayaraghavan’s speech was the BJP. That, unfortunately, was not highlighted. It was reported out of context. As far as my party is concerned, we are dead against regressive fundamentalist forces of any religion. And we differentiate very clearly between these groups, which are small in number.
They are fringe elements, but they receive backing from mainstream parties like the Congress and the League that are actively trying to use these groups. The CPM has and can never equate political trends of fundamentalism with any particular community. Unlike the Congress and the League, we do not compromise with that ideology. That is not Islamophobia.
How do you view Priyanka’s move into electoral politics?
As a new and young member of Parliament, I am sure she will do well.
Did you notice the criticism levelled against her entry into ‘dynastic politics’?
The CPM has never indulged in individual attacks. We focus on politics and policies. When Priyanka comes to Kerala and echoes her brother, in demanding the arrest of CM Pinarayi Vijayan, we criticise that. We are not concerned about what family she belongs to. If she comes here and repeats such slogans, we will certainly consider that as politics which is helping the BJP.
What will CPM’s main political positions be at the upcoming 24th party congress?
BJP is the main threat to the idea of India. We have to mobilise all forces, and not just political ones, against this danger. The 23rd congress said that the independent strength of the party is required to ensure that there is an uncompromising fight against the BJP. They go together.