Launching a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday that the senior Congress leader is the 'B-Team' of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as he accused the grand old party of politics of appeasement. As per Vijayan, the two parties have opposed the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in a similar way and they seem to be get along pretty well.
Speaking to news agency PTI, the Kerala chief minister said that Gandhi is one of those persons who does not want to learn from experiences. Vijayan said such people are a "rare phenomenon" and it is something that "happens to those who are normally incapable of grasping things", adding that the former Congress president belongs to this category.
"What we can see if we examine the national-level affairs is that the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi has become the actual B-team of the BJP. But, I'm not going into its details now," Vijayan said.
Vijayan alleged that the Congress is doing politics of appeasement and it aims to garner the support of groups engaged in majority and minority communalism. However, the CPI(M) and the LDF are against communalism, adding that the alliance is different from communal forces.
"One should be able to keep any communalism at bay. Those who prioritise votes cannot do that, and that's what has happened to the UDF now. The UDF is preparing to compromise with communalism which is a danger to the nation, no matter what kind it is," he told PTI.
"One must be able to take a strong stand against it. That is the speciality of the stand we take. We will not compromise with any communal force. We are against all communalism," he said.
Vijayan also said that Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, had made serious allegations against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal but a Delhi court rejected all accusations against the former Delhi chief minister and others, which he said was a huge setback to the Congress leader.
"It was a heavy blow to the face of the Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi. Despite that, it is pathetic that he is repeating the same thing. That is why I said they do not learn from what they have seen and experienced," he said.
Vijayan's remarks comes before assembly elections in Kerala, where polling is slated to be held in a single phase on April 9 and the results will be out on May 4.
