Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has come down on the Congress, without naming the party, over its alleged unclear stand on the Palestine issue and discreet support to Israel.
He was opening a public rally organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] here on Saturday to extend support to the Palestinian people who are under siege by the Israeli forces since October 7.
“When it comes to expressing solidarity with Palestine, some influential political parties are not to be seen anywhere. They have apparently taken a different position. It is not a question of lack of clarity or confusion. It is an indication of unclear stand. They are also offering support to Israel,” Mr. Vijayan said.
Without naming Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, he said an example of this was seen at an event in Kozhikode recently. Mr. Tharoor had come under criticism for his statement at a recent event organised by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) that it was the Hamas terror attack that led to a disproportionate response from Israel. The CPI(M) leader claimed that some people were found to have been repeating the Western media’s agenda-driven portrayal of the Palestinian people’s resistance as “terrorism”. “What is going on in Gaza is not a war between two nations. But Israel’s attempt to erase the Palestinians,” he pointed out.
“The CPI(M) organised an event in New Delhi to extend support to Palestine. Our stand is very clear. Why parties with immense popular support are not coming forward to do it in the national capital,” Mr. Vijayan asked.
The Chief Minister also took potshots at the IUML, again without naming it, for turning down the CPI(M)’s invitation to attend the public rally. “This is a humanitarian issue. We are not adamant that only our people should be part of it. There is no political discrimination. That is why we extended an invitation to another party when its leaders said they were willing to join us if we invite them. Nevertheless, we knew what their response was going to be,” Mr. Vijayan said.
The Chief Minister did not spare the BJP and the Union government too, saying that the ruling party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, had agreements with the Zionists. He claimed that the deviation from India’s principled stand of non-alignment and support to Palestine had started when Israel was recognised by the P.V. Narasimha Rao government. Mr. Vijayan claimed that this was done under pressure from the U.S. That policy was being continued even now under the BJP, he alleged.
Ministers, MLAs, CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, and representatives of organisations such as the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, and Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen, among others, were present.
