The general tenor of the political exchanges between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been decidedly civil and often seemed to verge on the courteous.
Being INDIA bloc collaborators at the national level and electoral rivals in Kerala, political exchanges between the helmspersons were long limited to a few oblique sideswipes.
However, the polite preliminaries seem to be water under the bridge, with both leaders removing their gloves as the Lok Sabha campaign in Kerala is entering its final and crucial phase. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Vijayan seem done tiptoeing around each other.
Charge, countercharge
Mr. Gandhi arguably fired the first salvo by pointing out that BJP-controlled Central agencies had spared Mr. Vijayan from arrest. At the same time, he said, two non-BJP Chief Ministers were in prison.
An apparently fired up Mr. Vijayan struck back in Kozhikode on Friday. He said Mr. Gandhi’s close aide Ashok Chauhan had defected to the BJP, fearing ED arrest. “Your (Mr. Gandhi’s) grandmother had jailed communists for one-and-a-half years during Emergency. Mr. Gandhi should know that we do not blanch at the prospect of arrest or forsake our politics,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan alleged that a real estate firm owned by Mr. Gandhi’s brother-in-law had paid BJP ₹175 crore to evade a CBI case. He said he wondered whether Mr. Gandhi’s political odyssey across India had made him wise. Mr. Vijayan said he was not repeating the sobriquet Mr. Gandhi had “earned” when the latter was a complete novice in politics.
The crossfire marked one of the most direct and intense exchanges between the leaders in the election campaign. The testy trading of barbs arguably assumed a personal tone.
‘Cosying up to Modi’
The remarks also triggered a political storm. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said Mr. Vijayan had “insulted” Mr. Gandhi to cosy up to Mr Modi. He said he did not expect Mr. Vijayan to “stoop so low” to endear himself to the BJP and demanded that the latter render a public apology.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said Mr. Vijayan was Mr. Modi’s mouthpiece in Kerala. He said Mr. Vijayan pointedly avoided criticising Mr. Modi and reserved his ire for Mr. Gandhi.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan riposted by drawing a political and ideological equivalency between Congress and Sangh Parivar, given Mr. Gandhi’s “reluctance” to address the CAA question forcefully.
