Satheesan Attacks CPI(M) Over Jamaat Remark, Calls It Hindu Majoritarian Echo
Satheesan Attacks CPI(M) Over Jamaat Remark, Calls It Hindu Majoritarian Echo
Kerala opposition leader accuses CPI(M) of echoing Hindu majoritarian rhetoric after A.K. Balan's Jamaat-e-Islami remark, warning against divisive politics and urging unity.
Kerala’s Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan said CPI(M) leader and former minister A.K. Balan’s remark that Jamaat-e-Islami would control the Home department if the Congress-led UDF came to power reflected a Hindu majoritarian perspective that portrays Muslims as subaltern citizens and disruptors. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Satheesan drew a parallel with the Gujarati poll campaign era, noting how such rhetoric has historically polarized voters.
Satheesan argued that the CPI(M) has drifted to the right and is increasingly acting as an apologist for SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, who has frequently vilified Muslims in north Kerala. He also criticized the party for attacking CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam after Viswam urged the LDF to dissociate itself from divisive voices in society and defend Kerala’s secular fabric, a stance Satheesan framed as a test of the coalition’s commitment to minority rights.
The opposition leader also pointed to the Jamaat-e-Islami’s withdrawal of its four-decade unconditional support for the LDF, tying it to the broader sense of grievance within UDF ranks. Satheesan said these developments underpin the need for a robust Congress poll blueprint, which he plans to present at a party camp on Monday as the campaign season heats up.
