Kochi/Kollam, March 26 Rahul Gandhi's claim that the LDF and BJP are colluding in the April 9 Assembly polls in Kerala drew a sharp rebuttal on Thursday from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said the Congress leader lacks even the insight of a regional leader.
A day after Rahul claimed that the alleged lack of action by central agencies in various corruption cases against Vijayan was proof of "collusion" between the LDF and the BJP, the veteran Marxist, speaking to the media in Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, accused the Gandhi scion and his party of being the BJP's 'B-team'.
Enraged by Vijayan's retort against Rahul, the Congress hit back at the chief minister, accusing him of targeting its leader to get into the good books of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The allegations and counterclaims by leaders of the two major fronts—the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-headed LDF—further escalated the political contest as the campaign for the Assembly polls reached its peak in the state.
Rahul launched a scathing attack on the Left at a rally organised by the Congress in Kozhikode on Wednesday.
Hitting back at the Congress leader, Vijayan said despite being a national political figure, "he does not learn from experience" and accused him and his party of being the BJP's 'B-team'.
"Though he (Rahul) is a national leader, the fact is that he lacks the understanding that a regional leader has. He does not try to understand anything clearly. Also, he does not learn from experience.
"These are not traits that befit a political leader. How can there be so much decline in an important figure in the Congress? All this shows that Rahul and the Congress in India are the B-team of the BJP," the CPI(M) politburo member said.
Vijayan also reacted to Rahul's allegation that corruption cases against him were going nowhere, while opposition leaders across the country were being targeted and cases registered against them for opposing the BJP, which he said was an indication of collusion between the LDF and the BJP.
The CM said that in Delhi, Rahul and the Congress had sought the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal in a liquor policy corruption case. But, Kejriwal was later acquitted and it was a "blow to the face" of the BJP and the Congress, including Rahul, he said.
He also pointed out that the Congress, instead of joining forces with the AAP to defeat the BJP in Delhi, opposed Kejriwal's party, leading to the saffron party's victory there.
Similarly, in Haryana and Bihar, the Congress' inability to take forward an alliance against the BJP led to the saffron party's victory in assembly polls in those states as well, Vijayan claimed.
"All this shows that the Congress is helping the BJP win and is acting as its partner," he contended.
Vijayan further said that it was the Congress, which for decades has had an alliance with the BJP in Kerala to defeat the LDF.
He said that from the time of EMS Namboodiripad, the Congress has been allying with the RSS and then Jansangh party and now the BJP, to gain power in the southern state. "Both the Congress and the BJP have the same mindset," he claimed.
Therefore, the Congress leader's allegation of an alliance between the CPI(M) and BJP was just "an anticipatory bail" in view of their impending defeat in the upcoming assembly elections, the CM said.
Responding to Vijayan's allegation that Rahul and the Congress are a "B-team" of the BJP, senior leader V D Satheesan alleged that the BJP was blackmailing the CM to win seats here.
"To ensure the victory of Suresh Gopi in Thrissur, he was blackmailed using the ED in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank case in the 2024 Lok Sabha election," Satheesan alleged.
He further claimed that Vijayan is bowing before BJP leaders and would "sign any paper they demand".
"He even misled his own Cabinet by signing the PM SHRI scheme without informing ministers," he said.
Satheesan said that the entire country is aware that Rahul is leading an uncompromising fight against what he termed a "fascist, autocratic and communal" Narendra Modi government.
"I want to ask Vijayan whether the ED questioning Sonia Gandhi and Rahul for 55 hours was part of any deal. You may get into their good books and come out of cases, but such accusations should not be made against Rahul," he said.
