‘This poll is about preserving secular state’
Kerala CM says a diverse coalition of believers and nonbelievers won India’s freedom and founded a secular state; he criticises BJPRSS combine’s politics of ‘ violence and hatred’ and adds that Congress ‘ big brother attitude’ is an impediment in bringi
erala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has underscored that the upcoming Lok Sabha election is a referendum on “preserving India’s secular democracy” and little else.
In an email interview with The Hindu on Friday, Mr. Vijayan articulated the pivotal nature of the 2024 Lok Sabha election ahead of the launch of his 24day tour through Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha constituencies on Saturday.
Mr. Vijayan said it was reductive to depict the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) staunch resistance to the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
Kas a “question about minority or majority”. Instead, the “question is about secularism”, he added. The CPI(M) veteran pointed out that a broad and diverse coalition of believers and nonbelievers won India’s freedom and founded a secular state. He said the Constitution did not envisage religion as a criterion for citizenship.
‘Defections a worry’
Mr. Vijayan said the Congress’s disintegration was not in the interest of the CPI(M)led LDF. However, pursuing a soft Hindutva line would not keep the more extreme BJP from the door. Only an uncompromising position against communal politics could defeat the BJP, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said defections from secular and democratic parties empowered the right wing, which was disconcerting.
Mr. Vijayan said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad would have no effect on Kerala in 2024. The people of Wayanad would evaluate him for his work as an MP, which was hardly any. He said Mr. Gandhi’s constituents were sceptical about the latter’s “presence and performance” in the Lok Sabha on issues such as humanwildlife conflict, CAA, and Ayodhya.
“If the Congress is keen on fighting the BJP, it would contest directly against BJP candidates. What message are you giving to the Indian public if even your topmost leaders are reluctant to fight the BJP?” Mr. Vijayan asked.
He said the Congress, as the biggest party in the Opposition, seemed unable to bring secular and regional forces on the same platform. “Its big brother attitude was an impediment,” Mr. Vijayan said.
BJP’s actions instil fear
Mr. Vijayan rejected the BJP’s accusation that the LDF had sown seeds of fear in the minority community to reap electoral dividends. “It is the BJPRSS combine’s politics of violence and hatred, and policies of discrimination and profiling, such as the CAA, which are instilling fear in various sections of the Indian society,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan said the CongressBJP recriminatory campaign, often bordering on the personal, would have no traction among voters. “They are barking up the wrong tree,” he said. ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’, the government’s outreach programme, had stirred people to question the Congressled United Democratic Front’s jarring silence about the Union government’s discrimination against Kerala, he said.
Forecast for Sunday:
Heavy/very heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Thunderstorm with lightning/gusty winds likely at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, east Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha