Political impact of West Asia conflict in poll-bound Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The conflict in West Asia is having its political repercussions in poll-bound Kerala too as the BJP accused the Congress and the CPM of backing Iran by triggering NRI sentiments.

While the CPM and Congress leaders in Kerala, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and opposition leader V D Satheesan, openly flayed the US-Israel attack on Iran, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused both the parties of ignoring the plight of lakhs of Malayali in the Gulf countries and backing Iran as part of appeasement politics.

"Gulf countries are second home for lakhs of Malayalis. Moreover, Gulf connection is a key contributing factor for Kerala's economic growth. Even then the CPM and the Congress are backing Iran which is attacking Gulf countries. Both the parties are more interested in their communal appeasement politics rather than the safety of lakhs of Malayalis," Chandrasekhar said in a statement.

He also added that the BJP government at the Centre was constantly extending assistance for the NRIs in the Gulf countries and the BJP in Kerala also started helpdesk (1800 257 4357).

Apart from the strongly-worded statement of Pinarayi Vijayan against the US and Israel for attacking Iran, the Left Democratic Front would also organise a rally against "imperialist aggression" on March 6 in Kozhikode.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and Satheesan on Tuesday shared an article by AICC leader Sonia Gandhi on India’s "silence" on US-Israel action against Iran.

"India has a historic responsibility to speak out whenever world powers trample upon the principles we claim to uphold," Satheesan posted.

It may be recalled that during the attack on Palestine also, the CPM and Congress had organised rallies expressing solidarity with the Palestine people. Those were also widely interpreted as moves to appease the Muslim community, which is a key vote bank in Kerala.