Thalassery (Kannur): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi breached the decorum of the INDIA bloc by criticising Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI(M)’s Vadakara Lok Sabha candidate K.K. Shailaja told ThePrint in an exclusive interview.
The former health minister said the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) — part of the Congress-headed INDIA bloc — couldn’t believe when Rahul, during his campaign in Kerala last week, asked why the central agencies weren’t arresting Vijayan.
“Why is he (Vijayan) not being interrogated by the ED, the CBI and all? Two CMs are in jail, but why is none of this happening to the Kerala CM? I have been attacking the BJP 24X7 but the chief minister is attacking me. This is a bit puzzling,” Rahul had said.
Shailaja told ThePrint that Vijayan was always critiquing the Congress diplomatically but had to respond after Rahul’s statement.
“The central government is sending the ED and all the central agencies to threaten opposition leaders and parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They’ve also targeted Rahul… But we don’t know whether he (Rahul) is afraid of that and that is why he is shouting against us. Moreover, the Left is a member of the INDIA bloc, and he (Rahul) is threatening the same Left government here. That is not a good and fair thing. And, our CM also responded to Rahul Gandhi,” she asserted.
The former health minister, who earned global recognition for her management of the Covid pandemic and the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak, remains the biggest hope for the LDF ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Polling in Kerala is scheduled for 26 April.
During the 2021 assembly polls, Shailaja was elected from Mattannur in Kannur with a record mandate of 96,129 votes, while her nearest opponent Revolutionary Socialist Party’s (RSP) Illikkal Augusthy got 35,166 votes, according to the Election Commission. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the LDF won only one of the 20 Lok Sabha seats.
Her past performance as health minister and personal rapport with voters are pivotal to the LDF’s campaign in Vadakara, where she is pitted against sitting Congress MLA, Shafi Parambil.
Representing Palakkad, Shafi was chosen to fight against Shailaja after Vadakara’s sitting MP and senior Congress leader K. Muraleedharan was moved to contest in Thrissur.
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‘Congress MPs were quiet in Parliament’
Shailaja criticised the MPs of United Democratic Front (UDF) for their silence during the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Parliament. She claimed that A.M. Ariff, the CPI(M)’s sole MP from Alappuzha, was the only one who raised his voice in Parliament when anti-democratic measures were being enacted.
Apart from her, Shailaja said, the Left has fielded many senior leaders so that “the people of Kerala would know that the leaders, once elected, will raise their voice in Parliament when needed.”
Besides Shailaja, the LDF has fielded senior leaders like state minister and sitting Chelakkara MLA K. Radhakrishnan from Alathur; Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem from Kozhikode, and party’s politburo member A. Vijayaraghavan from Palakkad.
Former ministers V.S. Sunil Kumar, T.M. Thomas Isaac and C. Raveendranath have been fielded from Thrissur, Pathanamthitta, and Chalakudy, respectively. The CPI(M) has also fielded sitting MP A.M. Ariff from Alappuzha against senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal.
Speaking about the importance of the Lok Sabha elections, Shailaja claimed the polls assume the utmost importance as the Constitution, which advocates for secularism, democracy and sovereignty, “is under threat by the BJP-led central government”.
“Kerala is the stronghold of the Left parties. So, we are requesting the people of Kerala to send 20 Left MPs to Parliament. We will struggle hard and raise our voices for democracy and secularism,” Shailaja asserted.
The CPI(M) leader said the INDIA bloc was formed to fight against the BJP, and the fight between the Congress and the CPI(M) is not as difficult in Kerala as it has been the case traditionally. She said the INDIA bloc will fight jointly to safeguard secularism and democracy, but the LDF will not hesitate to reveal the Congress’s real nature, too.
“To fight the BJP, the INDIA bloc is there. But in the state, it’s not like that. In Kerala, the fight is between the Left and the UDF. The BJP is also there. But the main fight is between the Left and the Congress. We have been fighting Congress for a long time,” she added.
Vadakara’s fierce battle
Located in the northern part of the state, Vadakara has seven assembly segments — two within the Kannur district (Thalassery and Kuthuparamba) and five in Kozhikode, Kuttiady, Nadapuram, Koyilandy, and Perambra). Kozhikode was at the heart of the Nipah virus scare back in 2018.
Of these seven assembly segments, five are represented by the LDF, while the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) have one seat each.
This time, the UDF is pinning its hopes on Shafi Pramabil’s influence among youngsters and the support of significant minority votes in the constituency. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Welfare Party of India have announced their support for the UDF in Kerala.
RMPI MLA K.K. Rama, the wife of former Communist Party member T. P. Chandrasekharan, who was allegedly murdered in 2012, is also a permanent face in Pramabil’s campaigns.
However, according to Shailaja, there won’t be consolidation of votes based on religion. “I think, there will not be such a thing as consolidation. There are so many Hindus and Muslims who fear that the central government is doing some ‘mysterious thing’. So both Hindus and Muslims vote for us. There is no consolidation according to religion,” she emphasised.
According to the 2011 Census, Kannur district has a 59.83 percent Hindu population followed by Muslims (29.43 percent) and Christians (10.41 percent). In Kozhikode, there is a 56.21 percent Hindu population followed by 39.24 Muslims and 4.26 percent Christian voters.
Meanwhile, the battle in Vadakara has also had a slew of controversies. Earlier this month, Shailaja filed a complaint with the Election Commission against her competitor Parambil, alleging that the Congress was launching personal attacks ahead of the elections.
Shailaja alleged that doctored photos of her were shared on an Instagram profile, which contains posts favouring the Congress and misrepresenting her personal conduct and attire.
Responding to this, Parambil Monday sent a legal notice to Shailaja for trying to tarnish his name. The Congress leader had earlier sought deployment of central forces alleging bogus votes by the LDF cadres.
Reacting to the issue, Shailaja said the UDF is engaging in cyber attacks against her as they are scared of losing the constituency. The confident leader also told ThePrint that she was able to successfully manage Covid, Nipha, and post-flood health scene “and the people still express love for her”.
“People are saying ‘teacher, we can’t forget your face. Because during the Nipah and the Covid times you consoled us. We were all listening to you at that time’. And I think they love me,” she asserted.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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