CPI(M) in Kerala steps up attack on UDF over Jaamat-e-Islami support

A day after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) made it clear that it would accept the support of Jamaat-e-Islami, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Kerala State Secretary MV Govindan on Saturday intensified his attack on the Opposition coalition, accusing it of “alliance with religious extremist organisations”.

​Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) ongoing northern region development rally Vikasana Munneta Jatha in Kozhikode, Mr. Govindan claimed that the Congress is “increasingly relying on social consolidation” to bolster its electoral prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections.

​The CPI(M) State Secretary said the Congress had awarded Jamaat-e-Islami a “certificate of merit despite its radical theocratic agenda”, revealing the growing relationship between the Congress and the organisation.

​He also said that Jamaat-e-Islami’s influence has also permeated the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), claiming that the organization has become the “key architect” of the IUML’s ideological framework. Mr Govindan warned that such a shift poses a “fundamental threat” to Kerala’s long-standing secular traditions.

Opposition Leader VD Satheesan on Friday said the UDF would accept the support of Jamaat-e-Islami, adding that the organization had made it clear that it did not support the idea of ​​a theocratic state.