KANNUR: In a curious political gesture, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale invited Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), saying it would result in flow of more central funds to the state.
“If Pinarayi Vijayan joins the NDA, it will be a revolutionary decision. If he and the CPM join NDA, more money will come to Kerala, which can be used for the state’s development. Narendra Modi will give a big package to Kerala also,” Athawale, who is president of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), told reporters in Kannur on Wednesday.
“Pinarayi Vijayan is not with NDA, and therefore money is not coming. If he joins the NDA, his demand will be accepted by our prime minister. Money will come through various schemes,” Athawale said. He urged the CM to join the NDA ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
He said a tie-up between Pinarayi and the BJP would have no difficulty in capturing power in Kerala, and that such an alliance would pave the way for Pinarayi to become CM once again. Athawale said many socialist party leaders have already joined the NDA. He added Pinarayi Vijayan’s Communist Party can also come on board for the sake of development.
The BJP and the NDA are steadily gaining strength in South India, including Kerala, where they won one seat, in Telangana where they won eight and Andhra Pradesh where they secured 21. “The NDA aims to further increase its seat share in the coming elections. I appeal to the CPI and the CPM to join NDA,” he said.
Union min’s remarks against federal principles of Constitution: Govindan
The CPM reacted strongly against Athawale’s overture saying the minister’s remarks are against federal principles of the Constitution. CPM state secretary M V Govindan said the remarks reflected an attempt to place constitutional institutions under the control of the RSS.
According to Govindan, the underlying message of Athawale’s statement is that everyone must join the NDA to receive Centre’s support. A minister in the Union Cabinet himself has spoken against the federal system, he said. “Our Constitution has envisaged strong states and a strong centre. Around Rs 5 lakh crores have been pending with the Centre in the past five years and when we demand the fund, they say that we should be a part of the NDA,” he said.
Govindan said this is an issue that affects not merely Kerala but all federal systems and, it should be protested strongly. “It is part of the dictatorial intervention,” he said.