Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday came down heavily on the Congress for its silence on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to media persons at Cherthala in Alappuzha on Saturday, Pinarayi Vijayan said while CPI -M manifesto pledges to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA), the Congress manifesto, lacking a commitment, remains notably silent on the issue.
He said the silence of the Congress in its manifesto on CAA and other draconian laws points out that the party is not serious in its fight against the Sangh Parivar and its Hindutva agenda
“The BJP government has implemented the CAA to polarise society. It is aimed at making Muslims second-class citizens in the country. The Congress and its leadership have been maintaining silence on the CAA. Its manifesto has not promised to repeal the CAA. The silence of the Congress in its manifesto on CAA and other draconian laws points out that the party is not serious in its fight against the Sangh Parivar and its Hindutva agenda,” said CM Vijayan
He said BJP’s communal politics will not have any place in Kerala and the Left will not allow the BJP to take root in the state, adding that the Left will ensure that the BJP does not win a single seat in Kerala in the Lok Sabha polls.
“Of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala, the BJP will not even come second in any of the seats. The Left will not allow communalism to take root in Kerala. We will oppose the Sangh Parivar with all strength and work to oust them from power at the Centre,” Vijayan said.
He said it was with the help of Congress that the BJP opened the account in Kerala in the 2016 Assembly polls. To elucidate this, he pointed out the vote polled by the Congress in Nemom constituency in 2011 and 2016
“In the 2011 polls, the UDF bagged 17.38% votes in Nemom Assembly constituency. Five years later, the UDF’s vote share in the constituency dipped to 9.7% and the BJP candidate won,”Vijayan said.