Congress leader points to Kerala CM’s of changing colours

Senior Congress leader and Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan on Sunday alleged that  state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is changing colours like a chameleon while speaking about his party’s relationship with Jamaat-e-Islami.

Addressing a press conference in Nilambur on Sunday, Satheesan said  Chief Minister Vijayan is trying to make the Jamaat-e-Islami issue controversial so that people’s problems are not discussed among the voters in Nilambur.

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He said while the Congress-led UDF is seeking votes in Nilambur by raising problems and woes being experienced by the people, the CPI-M -led LDF campaign is concentrating  on communalism. “The UDF is  seeking  votes  by raising the issues of the  people – their  problems and woes. But  the CPI-M is talking about communalism in the campaign,” Satheesan said.

Speaking about the incident related  to the checking of the vehicle travelled by Congress leaders Shafi Parambil MP and Rahul Mamkoottathil MLA in Nilambur, Satheesan said he is not against anyone checking the  vehicles of Congress leaders, the objection is to searching and checking only the vehicles of UDF leaders.

Shafi Parambil and Rahul Mamkootathil accused  election officials of targeting them by asking them to pull over their vehicles at Colony Plot near Nilambur on Friday night.

Under the code of conduct, election officials are empowered to inspect any vehicle, irrespective of the position and designation of occupants. The episode, which also reportedly involved the two threatening the officials who scrutinised the vehicle, has pushed the Congress into a silent corner.

The support extended by the Welfare Party, political arm of the Jamaat-e-Islami, to the Congress-led United Democratic Front and Abdul Nazar Maudany headed People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) for June 19 by-poll to the Nilambur assembly seat in Malappuram have triggered a row in Kerala. As the CPI-M accused the Congress of taking the support of ‘communal forces’, the  Congress hit back at the Left over the support the CPI-M earlier got from the Welfare Party as well as by citing PDP’s support to the left-front. The  BJP has accused both the Congress and the CPI-M of indulging in ‘appeasement politics.

The CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) is using Congress leader VD Satheesan’s  statement whitewashing Jamaat-e-Islami as a weapon in the Nilambur by-election. Satheesan’s statement that Jamaat-e-Islami has abandoned its extremist positions has put the Congress and the party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in a difficult situation.

Chief Minister Vijayan  in an election meeting in Nilambur on Saturday alleged that the UDF is now trying to join hands with Jamaat-e-Islami, which has been marginalised by all dominant sections of Muslim community.  He said  the  Jamaat-e-Islami  is a group that poses a threat to society.

Responding To CPI-M’s criticism against UDF for it accepted the support extended by the Welfare party, political arm of Jamat-e-Islami to UDF candidate in Nilambur , VD  Satheesan  earlier said   when Jamaat-e-Islami supports CPI-M, it’s considered a secular party, but when it supports UDF, it suddenly becomes a communal party.