CPM leader's remark on Jamaat-e-Islami stokes row, Congress says party 'toeing' Sangh Parivar's line in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: A controversial statement of a CPM senior leader in Kerala that Jamaat-e-Islami will hold home portfolio if the Congress returns to power in the state and communal riots could happen has triggered strong reaction from the Congress and Jamaat-e-Islami.

While Congress alleged that the CPM was trying to trigger communal divide to help the BJP-Sangh Parivar in the elections, Jamaat-e-Islami and its political party Welfare Party decided to move legally against the CPM over the remark.

CPM senior leader and former minister A K Balan said on Tuesday that if the Congress-led United Democratic Front returns to power in Kerala, Jamaat-e-Islami would be in charge of the home portfolio. It could eventually lead to many 'Marads' happening in the state, he said referring to the 2002-2003 communal clashes at Marad in Kozhikode.

Strongly reacting to it, opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress said that the CPM was toeing the line of BJP-Sangh Parivar agenda of triggering anti-Muslim sentiments for electoral gains. He alleged that Balan, who is a central committee member of the CPM, was making the statement with the consent of the party leadership only.

"The BJP earlier used to campaign that if the Congress comes to power in Gujarat Ahmed Patel will become Chief Minister. It was aimed at communal polarization. The CPM is now toeing the Sangh Parivar line of triggering communal divide in Kerala. The CPM, which was getting the support of Jamaat-e-Islami during the last many years, should clarify whether Jamaat-e-Islami was then handling the home portfolio," Satheesan said.

Jamaat-e-Islami Kerala amir P Mujeeb Rahman said that the CPM was trying to make the Marad riots a political weapon, which even the BJP was not doing. "It was unfortunate that the CPM is trying to trigger communalism for electoral gains. Jamaat-e-Islami only took initiatives for peace talks at Marad. Even then a CPM senior leader was trying to unleash a propaganda to mislead the people and create communal polarisation in the society," he alleged.

Jamaar-e-Islami also decided to send a legal notice to Balan demanding a compensation of Rs. one crore for the defamatory statement, unless he withdraws it.

'CPM-BJP electoral nexus in Thiruvananthapuram'

Meanwhile, Congress also alleged that the CPM and BJP were entering into unholy nexus with regard to the Nemom and Vattiyoorkavu assembly seats in Thiruvananthapuram.

Congress leader K Muraleedharan said that the statement of CPM leader and education minister V Sivankutty, who is the sitting MLA of Nemom, that he would not contest again in Nemom and BJP councilor R Sreelekha's statement that she would not contest in Vattiyoorkavu seat in the assembly elections seem to be part of BJP-CPM electoral nexus.

These two seats are among the few seats in Kerala where the BJP is having high chances of winning.