MA Baby slams Rahul Gandhi for comparing CPI(M) and RSS

New Delhi: Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary MA Baby on Friday slammed the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for his remarks equating the RSS and the Left party.

In a scathing attack that came a day ahead of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc meeting scheduled on Saturday evening, Baby reminded Gandhi that the Congress could not have formed a government in 2004 without Left support.

In a video statement shared on X, Baby said the former Congress president's statement betrayed the absence of a correct understanding of the role of CPI(M) and RSS in Kerala or India.

The remarks came as Rahul Gandhi, speaking in Kerala's Kottayam on Friday, said that he fights the RSS and the CPI(M) ideologically, but his biggest complaint about them was their lack of feelings for the people.

Baby said that the statement was unfortunate in the context of Kerala, where the CPI(M) has been in the forefront of fighting RSS ideologically and politically. "They have killed around 100 young CPI(M) comrades as we are committed in the fight against RSS," he said.

"I do not know whether Mr Rahul Gandhi knows what is the record of Congress in Kerala in fighting the RSS. The very fact that he in a way equated the CPI(M) and RSS betrays the absence of a correct understanding of the role of CPI(M) and RSS in Kerala or India," Baby said.

"We do not have to elaborate how systematically we have been fighting the RSS and BJP," the CPI(M) general secretary said.

"Rahul Gandhi only needs to recall how Mr Manmohan Singh could not have formed a government in 2004 without the support of CPI(M) and other Left parties. Congress did not command a majority in Lok Sabha after the 2004 election," he pointed out.

The Left leader said that the moment Gandhi steps into Kerala, "maybe he becomes a former Member of Parliament from Wayanad".

"Rahul Gandhi represented Wayanad, where he did not have to fight the RSS or BJP but a CPI candidate. I hope and wish that he would be more serious while speaking against CPI(M)," he said, adding that "CPI(M) can be criticised." Gandhi had fought Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Annie Raja in the Wayanad seat. The Congress leader, who had also won from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, gave up the Wayanad seat, which was later won by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Baby said that while the CPI(M) was also compelled to criticise the Congress for its economic policies, they continue to do so in a "friendly manner".

"We will make independent criticisms, but we will never equate the Congress with the BJP or RSS," he said.

"So, it was quite unfortunate that, in a very casual and sweeping manner, Mr Rahul Gandhi put CPI(M) and RSS together as his ideological enemies. People can reflect upon it," Baby said.

Both the Congress and CPI(M) are part of the INDIA bloc, an alliance of opposition parties formed to challenge the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

In Kerala, the Left Democratic Front led by the CPI(M) and the United Democratic Front led by the Congress are the main opponents, with the BJP trying to make inroads in the state.