Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi (L) and CPI(M) leader John Brittas.
Credit: PTI Photos
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's remarks against CPI(M) in Kerala equating the Left party and the RSS have triggered uneasiness among the Congress and the Left bloc.
On Sunday, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas said that Rahul's assignment should be to unite secular forces in the fight against the BJP-RSS and not create division within.
His CPI counterpart P Sandosh Kumar alleged that most of Rahul’s core team has joined BJP and he should be considered the “most important supplier of cadres” to RSS and BJP. So do not compare the Left and RSS, he said.
In Kerala last Friday, Rahul had said that both RSS and CPI(M) "do not have feelings for people", remarks which were described as "absurd and condemnable" by the CPI(M). While both the parties are part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, they fight against each other in Kerala.
Brittas said, "The main job of the LoP should be to unite the secular forces instead of creating confusion and division amongst the secular forces. We feel that he would be mature enough to understand the writing on the wall. The state unit of Congress is not actually part of the national Congress, they are part of the BJP alliance in Kerala."
Sandhosh Kumar said Rahul being the I.N.D.I.A bloc leader should show some amount of maturity. “No sensible man can compare RSS with Left parties. Whenever he speaks, he always shows some amount of immaturity. How can he run I.N.D.I.A bloc? Congress should advise him,” he said.
“Most of his core team have joined BJP and he is the most important supplier of cadres to RSS and BJP. I can give you the list. So don't compare Left and RSS,” he said.
While the Left leaders and Rahul participated in the online meeting of I.N.D.I.A leaders, CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby chose not to raise the issue but his CPI counterpart D Raja said "nobody should equate the Left and RSS" without referring to the Congress leader.
Raja said I.N.D.I.A leaders should be cautious about their public utterances and their remarks should not create trouble within the bloc and cause confusion among people.
On Friday, the CPI(M) said, "Rahul Gandhi forgets who is fighting the RSS in Kerala- the CPI(M), which has lost countless dedicated workers in resisting saffron terror. Meanwhile, in Kerala, the Congress and the RSS continue to echo each other in expressing anti-communist sentiments. As soon as he steps into Kerala, Rahul Gandhi speaks that language too."
Left sources said Rahul is being wrongly briefed by some Kerala leaders. They also referred to his previous remarks attacking Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, asking why he is still not in jail despite being facing allegations of corruption. They said Rahul attacking the government is understandable but targeting the party is creating bad blood.
CPI also has raised the issue of Rahul Gandhi and later Priyanka Gandhi Vadra fighting the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat against CPI candidate. In its recently released Draft Political Resolution for Chandigarh Party Congress, the CPI had mentioned Rahul's electoral battle in Wayanad.
The draft resolution said it became a "repeated and avoidable stumbling block for deeper opposition unity". Ideally, the party had said, Rahul should have fought from a seat where the BJP is the main rival.