Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday sought to scotch the Opposition speculation that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was actively scouting for new alliance partners from the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) by casting a morally authoritative stance on the Palestine issue as a lure.
Mr. Vijayan said the CPI(M) had invited the IUML to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) rally to voice solidarity with the besieged and bombed people of Gaza and West Bank after a senior League leader evinced interest in participating in the public event at Kozhikode on November 11.
Later, the IUML leadership discussed the invitation and declined it politely without distancing itself from the CPI(M)‘s stance on Palestine. Mr. Vijayan claimed that the IUML expressed a practical difficulty in attending the rally while remaining in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition.
