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The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) hit out at Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its politburo member A Vijayaraghavan for his statements on Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi’s win in Wayanad parliamentary seat.
PK Kunhalikkutty, national general secretary of IUML, a close ally of Congress and a member of Kerala’s United Democratic Front (UDF), said CPI(M) was stirring up communalism.
“(A) Vijayaraghavan’s remark is a cruel remark. The CPM is trying out the politics in Kerala that the BJP is doing in north India. They are spewing communalism in the fear of losing votes. They are spreading blatant communalism. Don’t forget that this is Kerala. You will get opposite results if you spread communalism,” Kunhalikutty said on Sunday.
He also said that Vijayaraghavan is rejecting the voters of Wayanad by making these statements.
At the CPI(M) party conference in Bathery, Wayanad, last week, politburo member A Vijayaraghavan stated that extremist elements were present at Priyanka Gandhi’s rallies . He also suggested that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi won from Wayanad with the support of the most extreme elements from the minority communal forces.
WHAT CPI(M) LEADER A VIJAYARAGHAVAN SAID
He asked whether Rahul Gandhi could have been “elected without the strong support of Muslim communal alliance.”
Previously, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan also voiced similar sentiments and said Priyanka Gandhi was contesting with the support of Jamaat-e-Islami.
“Now two people won from Wayanad, no? Rahul Gandhi won, right? With whose support did he reach Delhi? Will he be elected without the strong support of Muslim communal alliance? .. . Priyanka Gandhi also contested from here. Who were the people in the front and back during her rallies? They were the most extreme elements from the minority communal forces. They and the Congress are the central leadership here,” Vijayaraghavan had said.
CONGRESS SAYS CPI(M) FOLLOWING BJP
Congress general secretary and Alappuzha MP KC Venugopal said the politburo member’s comment sounded like that of the Sangh Parivar. “What Vijayaraghavan said, is that a politburo line?” he asked a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
He said that when Amit Shah insulted Ambedkar, Pinarayi Vijayan, as the chief minister of Kerala, should have been the first to condemn. “Instead his party’s politburo member is making a statement like this,” Venugopal added.
“The BJP seems to have contracted the CPI(M) to defame Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Kerala. Vijayaraghavan is pursuing the BJP’s communal agenda in the state,” he stated.
Claiming that CPI(M)’s base in Kerala was eroding, Venugopal said that Vijayaraghavan’s remarks were a reflection of a BJP-CPI(M) deal.
He gave the example that in Wayanad’s Thirunelli panchayat, which is a CPI(M) stronghold, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi secured significant leads in 2019 and 2024. CPI(M) also faced setbacks in Alappuzha, another Left bastion, prompting majority-communal tactics to retain support.
Leader of Opposition in Kerala, VD Satheesan called Vijaraghavan’s statement “absurd”.
“She (Priyanka Gandhi) won with a margin of 4,10,000 votes from Wayanad… Almost all people from the constituency, irrespective of religion, politics voted for Priyanka ji and earlier for Rahul ji,” Satheesan explained.
“Now CPI(M) has made an agenda in Kerala to appease the majority community because so many central agencies are investigating Pinarayi Vijayan and members of his family,” Satheesan accused the ruling party in the state.
He claimed that the CPI(M) was supporting the Sangh Parivar agenda to “bypass all this crisis”.
“Before the Lok Sabha elections, they were trying to appease the minority community, which didn’t work. So, after the elections they are now trying to appease the majority community,” Satheesan said.
