CPM mouthpiece praises Rahul

Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi were in for special mention in an editorial in CPI(M) mouthpiece Peoples Democracy as it attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his speech on no-trust vote that "failed" to address pointed queries and issues.

The editorial found Modi's speech in response to the no-trust debate as a "hackneyed repetition" of statistics to show how the government had delivered.

"Apart from that, Narendra Modi resorted to his stock-in-trade diatribe against the Congress and the dynasty. For most people, who viewed the debate and are not committed to any party, the opinion was that Narendra Modi conspicuously failed to answer the pointed queries and issues posed by the opposition," it said.

While referring to issues raised during the debate, it said the issue of corruption in Rafale deal was strongly raised, "particularly by Rahul Gandhi". It went on to say Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's response that the price of aircraft is governed by a confidentiality agreement between India and France has "proven to be hollow" and that the "dogged refusal" to give out information is "confirming the widespread suspicion that there is something murky about the deal".

The positive references to Congress and Gandhi in Peoples Democracy edited by CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat, who has taken a strong anti-Congress line, has set tongues wagging on whether he has softened his position on the party in the fight against Congress.

Karat's line of no-truck with Congress did not cut much ice at the Hyderabad Party Congress earlier this April as party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury managed to get the majority behind his line of thought. While CPI(M) will not enter into a political alliance with Congress, it was allowed room for entering into seat adjustments with the main opposition party.

The editorial said though the motion moved by TDP was mainly aimed at failure in granting Andhra Pradesh's special category, opposition was able to focus on a range of Modi government's failures.

Claiming that BJP MPs' questioning the propriety of moving a no-confidence motion when it has a stable majority is a "spurious argument", it said, "the no-confidence motion is brought in not only to vote out a government but it is an instrument for voicing disapproval and opposition to the policies and performance of the government. It is on this account that the BJP and the NDA alliance failed to counter the opposition charges and defend the government’s record."