CPM ask Jamaat to make public talks with RSS; Cong denies role

Press Trust of India

Kasaragod: The ruling CPI (M) on Tuesday continued to target the Jamaat-e-Islami over its recent talks with the RSS and urged it to explain to the public benefits of the parleys, even as the opposition Congress termed as "nonsense' Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's charges connecting the party-led UDF with the meeting.

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan charged that the organisation was accusing the Left party of 'spreading Islamophobia' to deliberately cover up their stand towards the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was speaking to reporters in the district in between the party's state-wide monthlong People's Defence Rally, which began here on Monday.

Stepping up his attack, Govindan said, "The Jamaate-Islami should explain to the people clearly what they are going to achieve by holding discussions with the RSS. The fact is that by using the term Islamophobia, a deliberate attempt is being made to cover up the stand of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the RSS." They were trying to blame the CPI(M) for that, he claimed and demanded the outfit explain the benefit of holding talks with the Sangh Parivar.

The party state secretary's criticism comes a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attacked the Jamaate-Islami for its parleys with the RSS. In a recent Facebook post also, Vijayan attacked the Muslim outfit over the development and said their argument that there was a need for dialogue despite their disagreements with the Sangh Parivar 'exposes its hypocrisy.' The CM, during a public meeting here, alleged that the Jamaat was also a supporter of the Congress-led UDF and wondered whether the opposition party had any role in the meeting.

However, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan rejected the charges and said the CM, who is on the defensive on various issues, was trying to divert attention and change the topic through his statements. What wrong had been done by the UDF in Kerala in the discussion held by some Muslim outfits including Jamaat with the Sangh Parivar in New Delhi, he asked while talking to reporters in Kozhikode.

He alleged it was Vijayan and his late party colleague Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who had held secret talks with the RSS state leaders as part of ending political violence in the state. The LoP further said from 1977, when the Jamaat started intervening in politics, till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Muslim outfit had been politically close to the Marxist party.

Satheesan also challenged the CM to deny his and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's meeting with the RSS leaders for discussion under the aegis of spiritual leader Sri M. KPCC chief K Sudhakaran also came out against Vijayan's charges against the UDF and said it was a mere attempt to divert people's attention from the grave issues being faced by the CPI(M).

In a statement, he also urged the CM to disclose the details of the discussions held by him and Balakrishnan with RSS leaders some years ago. Jamaat-e-Islami's parleys with the RSS in New Delhi last month have evoked sharp criticism from various quarters in the southern state.