Unhappy with the Left parties’ public campaign asking former Congress president Rahul Gandhi not to contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, a seat that the Communist Party of India (CPI) stakes claim to, the Congress has upped the ante with repeated attacks on the functioning of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s government in Parliament.
On Monday, Kerala party president and MP K. Sudhakaran moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha decrying the alleged high-handedness and human rights violations by the Kerala police. On Tuesday, during the zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, Congress member Jebi Mather raised the issue of farmers’ suicide in Kerala, allegedly because of inordinate delay in payment of paddy dues by the State government.
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Flagging Mr. Sudhakaran’s adjournment notice, CPI(M) floor leader in the Rajya Sabha Elamaram Kareem, at the parliamentary strategy meeting on Tuesday, complained about “State issues” being dragged at the Centre, endangering the bonhomie of the INDIA bloc. Responding to this, senior Congress leader and party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kodikunnil Suresh said the Kerala government’s failures could not be dismissed merely as a State-centric issue.
‘Nothing wrong’
“There was nothing wrong in Mr. Sudhakaran’s adjournment notice. As the State president, he has to defend his party cadres. These issues are not merely State issues and if not Parliament, where will we raise it,” Mr. Suresh said in an interview to The Hindu. He alleged that the Kerala police are working under the protection of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and attacking Congress workers mercilessly for protesting against the government.
Mr. Suresh instead pointed at the recent remarks made by CPI general secretary D. Raja, CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, CPI leader and State Revenue Minister K. Rajan urging Mr. Gandhi to not contest from Wayanad. Mr. Raja said that while every party had the right to contest from anywhere they want, but the current political situation dictated that Mr. Gandhi should contest from a constituency against the BJP, preferably in the North. Mr. Govindan said he should not contest against the Left front. Mr. Rajan suggested that if Mr. Gandhi is insisting on contesting from southern India then he can opt for Karnataka.
Mr. Suresh said, “It is wrong to blame us alone. They have been running a very public campaign against Mr. Gandhi’s decision to stand once again from Wayanand. If they are so concerned about the INDIA bloc’s unity, why are they raking a public controversy on this?”
The differences, Mr. Suresh said, would have to be settled through a sincere dialogue between the two sides and not through a public spat.
