Thiruvananthapuram, March 27 Congress leader V D Satheesan on Friday responded to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's remarks on alleged Congress-RSS links, claiming that the CPI(M) leader was indulging in both "appeasement of the majority and the minority".
The verbal exchange began after the Congress alleged a CPI(M)-BJP "deal" in the upcoming election, following which Vijayan claimed that Satheesan had the support of the RSS in North Paravoor.
Speaking to reporters here, Satheesan said that after facing setbacks from minority communities in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Vijayan switched to appeasing the majority.
"Vijayan is a person who promotes communalism based on the situation. He changes his words," the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly said.
He said that Vijayan first welcomed Jamaat-e-Islami and later claimed that he had no connection with the organization.
"He said that for votes, his stance would not change on the Sabarimala women entry issue. But when he lost the parliamentary election, he apologized by visiting houses," he said.
Satheesan alleged that the CPI(M) could not dare to take action against its party leaders accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
"This Chief Minister is protecting criminals and robbers. Now he is accusing Rahul Gandhi, who was questioned by the ED for 55 hours. The Chief Minister's son received summons, but nobody knows what happened to it," he alleged.
Responding to allegations of his links with the RSS, Satheesan said that BJP workers stage protest marches to his residence regularly.
"They have always worked strongly against me. BJP is working to defeat Congress," he said, reiterating his claim that there is a CPI(M)-BJP "deal" in several constituencies.
On the allegation that he had attended an RSS event in North Paravoor, Satheesan said that earlier he used to attend events of all parties, including CPI(M), CPI and RSS, to present the Congress stand in debates.
He said that when K V Thomas was part of the Congress, CPI(M) had invited him to its state convention in Kannur.
"Earlier, parties used to invite leaders from other parties for events. Now no one invites others," he said.
Satheesan said that unlike Vijayan, he did not win elections with the support of the RSS.
"When I asked him in the Assembly about a meeting held with RSS at Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, for which he arrived not in his official car, he sat bowing his head. He has not given an answer to it till now," Satheesan said.
He said that he had released a book authored by RSS leader P Parameswaran in Thrissur.
However, the same book was released in Thiruvananthapuram by former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, he added.
He said that his interview given to a news channel was removed from Facebook after police approached Meta.
"Even they fear an interview. It was removed following police direction. What right do the police have to remove that interview as I did not say anything wrong in it," he said.
When told that the Election Commission had directed police only to remove a comment in the interview, Satheesan asked what was wrong in the comment.
"It was not done by the Election Commission but by the Kerala Police," he said.
He said it is fear that is ruling the state, which is common among all autocrats and added that it is Narendra Modi’s brother who is ruling Kerala.
"Hitler had fear, Stalin had fear and Pinarayi Vijayan also has fear. Chief Minister Vijayan is a coward who fears even an interview," he said.
Referring to a poem by Bertolt Brecht, he said all autocrats are driven by fear.
“All autocrats have fear. The Chief Minister is also like that,” he said.