Kerala CM Vijayan calls Congress' allegations of CPI(M)-BJP tie-up ‘baseless’

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday (March 24) lashed out at the Opposition Congress over its allegation of an understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP in the poll-bound state.

Vijayan rejects Congress’ charge

Rubbishing Congress leader KC Venugopal's claim, the Chief Minister dubbed it "baseless and absurd."

Speaking to reporters, CPI (M) veteran further stated that when A. K. Gopalan contested from Palakkad as a Congress candidate in 1971, he was backed by the RSS.

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Vijayan also accused the grand old party of often entering into a “coalition of convenience” with the BJP, adding that a similar pattern was visible during the Thrissur Lok Sabha elections.

Cites past and ‘coalition’ pattern

"These are baseless and absurd allegations. In 1971, when A. K. Gopalan contested from Palakkad, the Congress candidate was an RSS-backed leader. The Indian National Congress has a long history of aligning with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) without any hesitation,” said the Chief Minister.

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“Such alliances have been repeated multiple times, eventually leading to what is known as the 'coalition of convenience.' Was it not the Congress that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party open its account in Nemom? The leakage of Congress votes was evident. The same pattern was visible during the Thrissur parliamentary elections as well,” he added as quoted by ANI.

Congress alleges ‘unholy nexus’

The remarks come in the wake of Venugopal’s allegations of an unholy nexus between the CPI (M) and the BJP in Kerala. Earlier, speaking to reporters, the Congress leader alleged that a closer look at the candidate lists of both parties corroborates his claim.

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"There are clear allegations of an unholy nexus between the BJP and the CPI (M) in Kerala. This is not a baseless claim; if you closely examine the candidate lists of both parties, you can clearly see an underlying understanding and mutual support in several constituencies. The Chief Minister has, for quite some time now, been a compromised leader. He does not speak up against Narendra Modi and appears to be functioning under pressure, including fear of central agencies like the ED," he said.

‘Unethical political arrangement’

"As a result, he is not taking a firm stand against the Centre on critical issues. Now, sensing that Kerala may slip out of their hands, the CPI (M) leadership has entered into an unethical political arrangement. There are multiple instances where CPI (M)'s actions seem to be aimed at creating opportunities for the BJP to gain advantage, even in constituencies where the BJP is traditionally strong. It is clear that both the CPM and the BJP have, in effect, misled and betrayed their own party workers,” added Venugopal.