Who is 'BJP's B-team'? Day after Congress attacks CPI(M) over helping saffron party, Vijayan lashes out at Rahul

Rahul and Kharge had questioned why Vijayan is not arrested by central agencies in corruption cases filed against him and it showed that there is an understanding between the CPI(M) and BJP.

New Delhi: CPI(M) on Thursday hit back at Congress top leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for their "provocative" remarks that the Left party is in cahoots with the BJP, claiming that its I.N.D.I.A ally is "reneging on their claim of fighting communal-authoritarian forces" by spreading "canards" to secure "cheap electoral gains" in Kerala.

The party came out strongly against the remarks made by Congress president Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul at an election rally in Kozhikode on Wednesday and insisted that people of people of Kerala will see through this "sinister" agenda while alleging that the main opposition party has become a "feeder organisation for the BJP".

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Rahul's refusal to learn from “repeated electoral setbacks” is a “strategic gift to communal forces” while accusing the Congress of "effectively" functioning as "BJP's B-Team" by "sabotaging secular alliances" in states.

"The acquittal of opposition leaders like Arvind Kejriwal -- whose arrest the Congress once shamelessly championed -- is a stinging reprimand to their opportunistic politics. The Left remains steadfast in our resistance against the Sangh Parivar, while the Congress discreetly enables them," he posted on 'X'.

At a recent meeting of I.N.D.I.A floor leaders, CPI(M)'s John Brittas and CPI's P Sandosh Kumar had raised the issue of Rahul attacking Vijayan and CPI(M) at a rally in Thiruvananthapuram earlier, saying such remarks by a leader of his stature "invariably weaken the coherence" of the Opposition bloc.

In a statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau "strongly" disapproved of the "provocative" statements made by Rahul and Kharge against Vijayan and the party's "secular credentials". Rahul and Kharge questioned why Vijayan is not arrested by central agencies in corruption cases filed against him and it showed that there is an understanding between the CPI(M) and BJP.

"Such canards are being spread by them to secure cheap electoral gains in the Assembly elections. By targeting the CPI(M) instead of the BJP, the Congress leaders are reneging on their claim of fighting communal-authoritarian forces," it said.

Referring to Congress leaders joining BJP, it said the party must introspect as to why, in state after state, this is happening, as it referred to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma holding important portfolios in a Congress government before joining the BJP and the Congress leadership in Tripura joining the saffron camp in 2018.

"Many ministers in the Union government and Members of Parliament belonging to the BJP were earlier prominent leaders in the Congress. The Congress became a feeder organisation for the BJP," it said.

The CPI(M) maintained that there has not been a single communal riot in Kerala during the last ten years of LDF rule while the "worst" communal riot in Marad took place under the Congress-led UDF government.

"Even in these elections, the Congress is allying with minority fundamentalist forces. The Congress-League-BJP nexus has been exposed in various elections in Kerala, including the recently concluded local body elections," it said.

The party said it has "consistently opposed the misuse" of central agencies against Opposition leaders but Rahul is calling for the arrest of an Opposition Chief Minister by invoking the ED and other central agencies.

"It should not be forgotten that the Congress had similarly called for the arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, former Chief Minister of Delhi. This exposes their opportunistic stance. The people of Kerala, who have witnessed unprecedented development and communal harmony over the past ten years under LDF rule, will deliver a fitting rebuff to both the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA," it said.

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader Brittas said Rahul was "camouflaging" the Congress' "unholy nexus" with the BJP by attacking the CPI(M).

"We have been pointing out various instances of collaboration between the BJP and Congress. In the recently held Rajya Sabha polls, 11 Congress MLAs contributed to electing two additional MPs of the BJP. Not even a single action has been taken. The Congress High Command must be serving all those people with biriyani. They want to win Kerala either by hook or crook," he said.