On Monday (1st April), Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came down heavily on Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family scion Rahul Gandhi. The Kerala CM said, “Why is he fighting from Wayanad against I.N.D.I. alliance partner CPI(M)?”
Addressing a press conference amid Lok Sabha poll campaigning, Pinarayi Vijayan said that Rahul Gandhi’s main rival in Wayanad is not the BJP, but rather the LDF candidate Annie Raja. He argued that the Gandhi scion should have avoided this and instead fought against the BJP directly.
Raising questions over Rahul Gandhi’s decision to fight from Wayanad, Vijayan said, “He (Rahul Gandhi) has an important role in the Congress party. Why is he contesting from here? Is he fighting Surendran or the BJP here? Here, LDF is the major power, and he is here to fight the Left.”
Left versus Congress in Kerala escalates.
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 1, 2024
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slams Rahul Gandhi for Wayanad contest#6PMPrime #ITVideo #Politics #Elections #Kerala | @Akshita_N pic.twitter.com/WBSENM4Rpq
Pinarayi Vijayan lamented that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was formed to fight against the BJP. The Kerala Chief Minister asked, “However, a senior leader, part of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, comes to Kerala to fight the LDF, which is also part of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. What should we understand from this?”
He further stated, “Rahul Gandhi is facing (CPI leader) Annie Raja at Wayanad. She is a senior Left leader with national stature.” The communist leader claimed that Annie Raja was branded as ‘anti-national’ for bringing out cruelty meted out against the Christians in Manipur, yet, Rahul Gandhi is fighting against her.
Kozhikode | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says, "Rahul Gandhi is coming to Kerala and contesting against Annie Raja. Annie Raja is a national leader of the CPI. She was called anti-national during the Manipur issue for strongly calling out the BJP government's wrongdoing…What was… pic.twitter.com/5YEQottnCt
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2024
Raising questions on Rahul Gandhi’s contribution, the Communist veteran said everybody is questioning his decision to come to Kerala but not competing against the BJP directly at the centre.
The Kerala CM added, “But what’s the role of Rahul Gandhi? We have seen many atrocities being carried out in the country, and we could see Annie Raja in the forefront fighting against those. But have we seen Rahul Gandhi anywhere like that?”
“Where to contest is their wish. But the impropriety of Rahul Gandhi contesting from here was discussed by the whole country. Why is he not fighting the BJP and contesting here?” Kerala CM asked.
Kerala CM rakes Congress’ stance on Delhi Liquor scam case
A day after the opposition bloc held a rally in New Delhi against Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, Kerala CM lambasted Congress accusing it of playing the key role in ED probe against Arvind Kejriwal.
He stressed that it was the Congress party which levelled the allegations against the Delhi government, demanded the ED probe, and lodged a complaint regarding the matter.
Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that the huge participation of people in the I.N.D.I. alliance rally held in New Delhi on Sunday was a strong warning for the BJP. However, he also advised Congress party stating that it should learn a lesson from the rally.
Kerala CM slammed the stand Congress party had taken in the Delhi liquor policy scam case adding that it should ‘introspect’ when it attacks non-Congress parties.
Pointing out Congress’ role in ED probe against their I.N.D.I. alliance partner Arvind Kejriwal, Vijayan noted, “It was the Congress which raised the allegation against the Delhi government. It was the Congress which filed a complaint in that regard, paving the way for the probe by the Enforcement Directorate.”
He further stated that when former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested, the Congress had demanded the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. Noting that Congress later changed its stance, he asked Congress to admit their ‘mistake’, hinting that it should apologise for its earlier stance.
The communist leader said, “They asked why Kejriwal was not arrested. This was the stand taken by the Congress. However, they changed their stance, which is a welcome move. The Congress leadership should acknowledge their mistake.
Notably, Pinarayi Vijayan’s remarks came weeks after the Congress-led UDF in Kerala demanded a probe by Central agencies into various allegations against Kerala government including the cooperative bank scam case. Additionally, the ED had recently filed a money laundering case against his daughter Veena Vijayan, her company, and a mining firm for alleged irregularities in financial dealings.
