Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hit out at the Congress on Saturday, asking how anyone can be certain that someone who is in the Congress today will remain so tomorrow.
Inaugurating the LDF convention in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency where the LDF has fielded CPI leader Pannian Raveendran, Mr. Vijayan listed out instances where prominent names in the Congress had shifted allegiance to the BJP in several States. Mr. Vijayan’s attack on the Congress also came on the heels of Padmaja Venugopal, Congress leader and daughter of former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, joining the BJP.
Across India, presidents of Congress State units, former Union Ministers, and AICC office-bearers were today in the BJP, he noted.
“This is the plight of the Congress in India. Can there be such a shameless party?” he said. While there is a belief that Kerala is different, the children of two prominent Congress leaders (in Kerala) are now in the BJP, Mr. Vijayan said. “How many more will go, who can say?” he said, adding that the people will not bear with such betrayals.
Noting that the nation is in crisis, Mr. Vijayan said Left presence in Parliament is imperative to protect secularism, the Constitution and Constitutional values, and Parliamentary democracy. The MPs of the Congress-led UDF had failed to protect the State’s interests in Parliament. They also failed to raise their voice against the attack on secularism and democratic values, he said.
Mr. Vijayan also blamed the Congress and the present BJP government for the difficulty faced by the State in managing the human-wildlife conflict. While the State government has sought amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act, the BJP government has opposed the request. The law was introduced by the Congress government under Indira Gandhi and the BJP government is now enforcing it, he observed.
