Congress's tactics against CPI(M) only help BJP, says Brinda Karat

Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has accused the Congress of practising what she termed dirty politics against her party, arguing that such a stance ultimately benefits the Bharatiya Janata Party. She was speaking in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday at an event organised by the AKG Centre for Research and Studies to commemorate former CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Ms. Karat said central agencies were being used to target leaders of opposition parties. Referring to Kerala, she noted that a Congress MLA had approached both the High Court and the Supreme Court against Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan but did not succeed. The Enforcement Directorate, she said, had been waiting for such an opening and seized the opportunity.

She took exception to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph's claim that the ED's actions were justified. Mr. Joseph, she said, must clarify whether the agency's moves were equally justified when they targeted figures ranging from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled States.

Ms. Karat asserted that there should be no illusion that the CPI(M) and Mr. Vijayan could be destroyed through the use of the ED. She also said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was subjugating both the country and the Constitution.

Describing the current dispensation as corporate Hindutva, she said an agitation led by the Cockroach Janta Party had succeeded in making Prime Minister Narendra Modi realise his responsibilities and had exposed the Vishwa Guru as a failure. She demanded that Mr. Modi and his Ministers clarify whether they subscribe to the RSS pledge or the pledge enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

Ms. Karat also responded to the Prime Minister's description of opponents as Dimagi Naxals, saying those who oppose democrats should instead be called Dimagi Sanghis.