In an e-mail interview with The Hindu on March 29, Mr. Vijayan articulated the pivotal nature of the 2024 Parliamentary elections. He underscored that the Parliamentary elections were a referendum on “preserving India’s secular democracy” and little else.
Mr. Vijayan said it was reductive to depict the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) staunch resistance to the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as a “question about minority or majority”. Instead, the “question is about secularism”, he added.
He said the Congress’s disintegration was not in the LDF’s interest. However, pursuing a soft Hindutva line would not keep the more extreme Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the door. He said defections from secular and democratic parties empowered the right wing, which was disconcerting.
Mr. Vijayan said that Rahul Gandhi would have no effect in 2024. The people of Wayanad would evaluate him for his work as an MP, which was hardly any. Mr. Vijayan said the Congress and the BJP’s recriminatory campaigns would not affect the hustings.
Congress’ ambivalence about the imposition of CAA is a major campaign theme in your speeches. Will it bring minority voters who traditionally hewed to the UDF close to the LDF’s secular and patently anti-BJP agenda?
It is not a question about minority or majority, it is a question about secularism. Should India continue to remain as a secular democratic nation or should we be viewed alongside the likes of religious states like Afghanistan? That is the real question. India’s glorious anti-colonial freedom struggle was fought by those belonging to all faiths as well as those who did not believe in any religion. They fought for a secular India and therefore nobody should be denied Indian citizenship on the basis of their religious identity. We are not looking at votes, our focus is on preserving India’s secular identity.
Do the defections from the Congress to the BJP unsettle the LDF? You have repeatedly said it was not in the LDF’s interest to see Congress disintegrate in Kerala. Could you kindly elaborate on why? Will such an implosion empower the right wing in Kerala?
We want all secular and democratic forces to come together against the communal BJP regime led by the RSS. So, any weakening of the secular and democratic forces in the country, is definitely a matter of concern. When people switch from secular and democratic parties to communal and authoritarian sides, it will certainly empower the right wing. To defeat the BJP by pursuing soft hindutva policies is not possible. It is required to confront them with the uncompromising positions of anti-communal politics.
Do you think Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad would shore up the prospects of the UDF as it did in 2019? Or is the so-called Rahul effect water under the bridge?
There is no effect, he will be evaluated for the work he has done as an MP from Kerala. People in Wayanad, his constituency, are seriously asking questions about his presence and performance in the Lok Sabha, especially on issues that mattered to them the most, like human-wildlife conflict, CAA, NIA, Ayodhya etc. If the Congress is actually keen on fighting the BJP, they would certainly contest directly against the BJP candidates. What is the message you are giving to the Indian public if even your topmost leaders are reluctant to fight the BJP?
How do you respond to the BJP’s charge that you have infringed on the Model Code of Conduct by withdrawing cases against anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protestors and that you are dividing voters into religious lines by allegedly sowing fear in the minority community?
We have not sown any fear in any community. It is the BJP-RSS combine with their politics of violence and hatred, and policies of discrimination and profiling such as the CAA and NIA, that are instilling fear in various sections of the Indian society.
The UDF and BJP’s recriminatory campaign against you in person has the same tone. The voters rejected their pitch in the 2021 Assembly elections. Now, both the UDF and BJP are trying to resurrect old allegations. Would it have any traction, given the larger issues involved in the pivotal LS polls, including CAA, secularism and fiscal federalism?
Absolutely none. They are barking up the wrong tree.
How do you think Congress’s go-it-alone strategy on key issues, including the CAA and misuse of Central agencies to weaken Opposition parties and their finances, affect the INDIA Bloc’s common cause at the national level?
This is a criticism that many have about the Congress party and their style of functioning. As the biggest party in the Opposition they are unable to play an effective role in bringing everyone together. At the same time, their big brother attitude is driving away those who should be standing together.
On the CAA front, does Kerala have a legal option to prevent the law’s imposition since it is your main talking point in several public rallies?
It is against the spirit of the Constitution and the basic structure doctrine. That is why it has been challenged in court. Let the process of judicial review take its due course. How can any government say that they will implement a law that is unconstitutional, even anti-constitutional?
It is to be noted that the Kerala Government has filed a suit challenging the validity of the amendment and the Advocate General has been asked to take the necessary steps in respect of the rules drafted.
Do you think NavKerala Sadas has brought your government closer to the people? Has the government been able to convince the electorate that the Centre’s hostility and brazen infringements on fiscal federalism had threatened the State’s development and expansive social security net?
Yes, absolutely. We are seeing more and more people questioning the Union Government’s discrimination against Kerala and criticising the UDF, ie the Opposition in Kerala, for their lack of criticism against such discriminatory policies.
Your vision of a modern Kerala driven by a knowledge economy has been a constant theme in your outreach to the public. Do you think Kerala could truly emerge as an oasis of learning, liberalism and secularism, given its literacy and high quality of life index, in the times ahead ?
Without a doubt. Kerala leads the country in several development indices, especially on education and health. We are at par with developed nations on several counts. We are seeing what the lakhs of guest workers in Kerala are saying about our State in comparison to their home States, that they get better education and health facilities and higher incomes here. Therefore, we are surely on the path of emerging as a knowledge economy and innovation society.
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