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Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 15 (IANS) Stepping up his attack on Kerala’s ruling CPI-M, state Congress chief Sunny Joseph on Saturday accused the Marxist leadership of displaying a “celebratory mentality of BJP’s victory in Bihar” and targeting Congress general secretary KC Venugopal to divert attention from its failures in the elections.
Joseph said that Congress has made every possible effort to strengthen the prospects of the Indian alliance in Bihar.
In contrast, he argued, top CPI-M leaders – including Politburo member and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan – stayed away from campaigning in the key state.
He said, “We did not see the Chief Minister or any prominent CPI-M leader campaigning actively. Even in constituencies where the CPI-M had fielded its candidates, the Kerala leadership remained sitting at home. They have no moral right to criticize.”
Joseph also criticized CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan for specifically highlighting Venugopal’s visit to his constituency Alappuzha during the busy Bihar election schedule.
He said, “Venugopal is an MP and a responsible national leader of the India Bloc. He fulfilled his duties. Portraying this as a crime only highlights the political insecurity of the CPI-M.”
The state Congress chief alleged that the Marxist party, which has often been accused of making a “tacit pact” with the BJP, is now unable to tolerate Venugopal’s influence in Kerala politics.
He said, “The CPI(M)’s political shortsightedness prevents them from recognizing their own agreements with the BJP. Venugopal’s presence in Kerala clearly irritates them.”
Joseph accused the CPI-M of ignoring issues like BJP’s alleged manipulation of opposition votes and the impact of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process on the voter list.
“Instead of investigating these matters, their priority is to attack the Congress,” he said. Today’s CPI-M has no capacity to even utter the word secularism.” He alleged that the party has allied with communal forces ”secretly and openly”.
Joseph’s comments come amid heightened political tension between the Congress-led UDF and the CPI-M-led LDF following the Bihar election results.
–IANS
SG/VD