Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] was vitiating the communal atmosphere to divide votes on religious lines.
The CPI(M) had attempted to portray the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) as a fundamentalist outfit. It wanted to render the IUML a political outcast.
Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener A. Vijayaraghavan had termed Congress leaders' visit to the IUML headquarters as a capitulation to a communal force. His political gambit was to stoke resentment among the other communities to draw some of their votes away from the United Democratic Front (UDF).
The CPI(M) had a fruitful alliance with the IUML in Tamil Nadu. It had won several seats at the behest of the IUML. However, the IUML was anathema to the CPI(M) in Kerala. It had damned the Congress party’s decade-old partnership with the IUML as a subaltern relationship. The CPI(M) had forgot that the IUML was their erstwhile ally in Kerala.
The CPI(M) had attempted to drum up the support of Sangh Parivar forces by repeatedly disparaging the IUML and other Muslim social organisations. Their actions were detrimental to democracy and secularism in the long run.
Mr. Chennithala said it was the norm for coalition partners to confer with each other. The LDF had attempted to give a communal colour to the Congress-IUML meeting.
Mr. Chennithala condemned the murder of IUML worker Sameer in Malappuram. He said the crime had the markings of a political murder. The police had remained unmoved despite early warnings of political violence.
