NEW DELHI: Another crack within INDIA bloc emerged on Sunday after newly elected CPM general secretary MA Baby complained about Congress’ repeated attacks on Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Baby cited “certain problems” within the opposition alliance and demanded the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to conduct himself in responsible manner.
Calling the grand-old-party the most important constituent of the alliance, Baby said, “But the Congress in Kerala, we don’t know why it is competing with the BJP to criticise the CPI(M).”
“It is on record that the leader of opposition, during the course of the last Lok Sabha elections, asked in a couple of public meetings why (Kerala Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan was not being arrested. The leader of opposition should conduct himself in a responsible manner as the leader of the overall political bloc in the opposition,” he added.
This comes after Rahul Gandhi had questioned why central agencies were not investigating Vijayan during campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is also the main opposition to the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan has repeatedly demanded Vijayan’s resignation, including recently over corruption allegations against his daughter.
“INDIA bloc meetings have not been held after the Lok Sabha elections. There are certain problems,” Baby said.
The newly elected CPM general secretary, however, also expressed hope that the opposition bloc would be able to overcome those differences.
Additionally, the former Kerala minister admitted that there had been a decline in the party’s strength and said every CPI(M) member needed to come together to achieve the goal of strengthening it.
Baby, elected to the top post after beating off competition from All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale — also said he would work with all party leaders and members, with the CPM, the biggest of the Left parties in India, looking to increase its independent strength, besides building Left unity.
