On April 1, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lashed out at the Congress and Rahul Gandhi over contesting the Lok Sabha election from the Waynad seat. Addressing a press conference during the Lok Sabha poll campaigning, Vijayan remarked, “Why is he fighting from Wayanad against I.N.D.I. alliance partner CPI(M)?”
He emphasised that Rahul Gandhi’s primary contender in Wayanad is not the BJP but the LDF candidate Annie Raja. Vijayan contended that Gandhi should have refrained from this and directly confronted the BJP instead.
Questioning Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad, Vijayan questioned, “He (Rahul Gandhi) has an important role in the Congress party. Why is he contesting from here? Is he fighting Surendran or the BJP here? Here, LDF is the major power, and he is here to fight the Left.”
Expressing dismay over the formation of the I.N.D.I. Alliance to combat the BJP, Vijayan remarked, “However, a senior leader, part of the I.N.D.I. Alliance, comes to Kerala to fight the LDF, which is also part of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. What should we understand from this?”
He continued, “Rahul Gandhi is facing (CPI leader) Annie Raja at Wayanad. She is a senior Left leader with national stature.”
Vijayan asserted that Annie Raja, despite being branded as ‘anti-national’ for highlighting the mistreatment of Christians in Manipur, is being contested against by Rahul Gandhi.
Casting doubt on Gandhi’s contributions, the Communist veteran questioned why Gandhi chose to contest from Kerala rather than directly challenging the BJP at the centre.
Vijayan added, “But what’s the role of Rahul Gandhi? We have seen many atrocities being carried out in the country, and we could see Annie Raja in the forefront fighting against those. But have we seen Rahul Gandhi anywhere like that?”
Kozhikode | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says, “Rahul Gandhi is coming to Kerala and contesting against Annie Raja. Annie Raja is a national leader of the CPI. She was called anti-national during the Manipur issue for strongly calling out the BJP government’s wrongdoing…What was… pic.twitter.com/5YEQottnCt
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2024
Regarding the choice of contesting location, Vijayan stated, “Where to contest is their wish. But the impropriety of Rahul Gandhi contesting from here was discussed by the whole country. Why is he not fighting the BJP and contesting here?”
The day after the opposition group held a big gathering in New Delhi to protest against Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, the Kerala Chief Minister criticised the Congress party. He said that the Congress played a major role in starting the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Arvind Kejriwal.
He pointed out that it was the Congress party who made the accusations against the Delhi government, asked for the ED to investigate, and filed a complaint about it. Pinarayi Vijayan also said that the large turnout at the I.N.D.I. alliance rally in New Delhi on Sunday was a strong message to the BJP. However, he advised the Congress to learn from the rally.
The Kerala CM criticised Congress’s position on the Delhi liquor policy scam, saying that when Congress attacks non-Congress parties, it should think about its own actions.
Vijayan highlighted Congress’s role in the ED probe against their I.N.D.I. Alliance partner Arvind Kejriwal, stated, “It was the Congress which raised the allegation against the Delhi government. It was the Congress which filed a complaint in that regard, paving the way for the probe by the Enforcement Directorate.”
He also mentioned that when former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested, Congress demanded Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest as well. Although Congress later changed its position, he suggested that they should admit their mistake and apologise for their earlier stance.
The Communist leader emphasised, “They asked why Kejriwal was not arrested. This was the stand taken by the Congress. However, they changed their stance, which is a welcome move. The Congress leadership should acknowledge their mistake.”
These comments from Pinarayi Vijayan came after the Congress-led UDF in Kerala requested Central agencies to investigate various allegations against the Kerala government, including the cooperative bank scam case. Additionally, the ED had recently initiated a money laundering case against his daughter Veena Vijayan, her company, and a mining firm for alleged financial irregularities.
