The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan on Friday said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would lead mammoth rallies across Kerala to muster public opinion against the Centre’s move to implement the “patently anti-Muslim” Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Mr Vijayan posted on X: “The International Day to Combat Islamophobia serves as a poignant reminder of the increasing hate crimes and intolerance directed towards Muslims worldwide. In the wake of the #CAA that discriminates against Muslims in our country, this day underscores the need to foster harmony and compassion to unite people against all forms of bigotry.”
The CPI(M) also sought to politically exploit the Muslim community’s “tangible anxiety” about the growing trickle of defections from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Govindan noted that an editorial in Suprabhaatham, mouthpiece of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, a Sunni organisation, had expressed “deep fear” at the “overnight” desertion of those who inherited the secular and democratic legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru to the fascist Sangh Parivar.
He said the editorial’s point that Congress discontents chose the BJP over other secular parties, including the CPI(M), told on the party’s shaky secular guardrails.
Mr. Govindan also sought to sow divisions in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition by urging its secular constituents to support the LDF’s anti-CAA movement.
He said the Congress’ “ambivalence about the CAA and its soft-Hindutva line” had unsettled allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Mr. Govindan said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had brushed aside the Congress’ naysayers and reaffirmed that it would not allow the Centre to impose the “anti-constitutional law” on Kerala. It had moved the Supreme Court on the premise that Parliament lacked the constituent power to alter the founding document’s core principles, including secularism, democracy, and federalism.
The LDF would oppose the Sangh Parivar’s agenda to incrementally convert India into a Hindu majoritarian polity by setting religion as a criterion for citizenship on the political and legal fronts.
