CPI(M) Attacking Rahul Gandhi Over Its Own Political Decline : K C Venugopal
Thiruvananthapuram : AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday hit back at CPI(M) for its criticism of Rahul Gandhi and claimed that the Left party blamed the Congress leader for its own political decline and electoral failures. In his Facebook post, Venugopal said the Marxist party’s attacks on Gandhi reflected the party’s “political insecurity” and inability to objectively assess the reasons behind recent defeats.
“Instead of analyzing the reasons for its dismal electoral performance in Kerala, the CPI(M) is trying to target Rahul Gandhi. If it continues on this path, even bigger defeats await the party,” Venugopal said.
Making a comparison, he said blaming Rahul Gandhi for CPI(M)’s problems is like “breaking a mirror just because someone’s face looks bad”.
The Congress leader also claimed that the CPI(M) survived in Parliament outside Kerala largely with the support of the Congress and its allies and hence his criticism of Gandhi was ironic.
He also accused the CPI(M) of “conveniently forgetting” that some of its leaders won elections outside Kerala with the support of the Congress-led alliance.
Venugopal said the INDIA bloc was formed under the Congress initiative to protect democracy and the Constitution from “authoritarian tendencies of the BJP” and to defeat the saffron party politically.
According to him, while the Congress pursues a broader national political agenda, the CPI(M) is guided by narrow regional considerations.
He claimed that such a limited political outlook contributed to the decline of the communist movement in states like West Bengal.
The Congress leader also defended Gandhi and said that he was at the forefront of the opposition’s fight against the BJP and that he too was a victim of political targeting.
Venugopal’s remarks came a day after senior CPI(M) leaders, including former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and party general secretary MA Baby, criticized Gandhi.
Vijayan had alleged that Gandhi’s political approach did not strengthen the INDIA alliance and mostly resulted in helping the BJP.
Responding to a question about Gandhi’s reported remarks at an INDIA bloc meeting that he would not hug Vijayan due to political rivalry in Kerala, the former prime minister had said he was not concerned about who hugged whom.
“But we have all seen the photo of Rahul Gandhi hugging Narendra Modi. My objection is not to Modi’s act of hugging him. Rather, his words represent a particular political message. It reflects Rahul Gandhi’s approach and how he views the INDIA alliance,” Vijayan said. he said.
