CM Vijayan rejects SDPI support claims
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday dismissed allegations that the ruling front sought SDPI backing in the April 9 Assembly polls as “baseless”. Addressing reporters, Vijayan asserted that neither the LDF nor any of its candidates had reached out to the SDPI for electoral support, including in the Nemom constituency.
The Social Democratic Party of India is the political arm of the banned Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). Responding to queries over the SDPI’s declared support to the ruling front in Nemom, where the LDF is locked in a keen contest with the BJP, Vijayan said the CPI(M), the LDF, or its candidate in the constituency had never sought such support.
“It is baseless. We have never sought any such support. We have never taken a stand seeking support from anyone outside the LDF. Our candidate in Nemom, Sivankutty, also did not make any such request,” he said.
The veteran leader also accused the Congress-led Opposition of attempting to create a smokescreen over the issue to confuse the public.
He noted that the political situation in Nemom during the 2021 Assembly elections was markedly different, recalling that the LDF had entered the fray with a clear objective of unseating the BJP from its only Assembly seat in the state.
The chief minister said voters who wished to defeat the BJP might have independently favoured the LDF, but maintained that such support could not be construed as any formal understanding or alliance.
Even those not politically aligned with the LDF might have voted for it to defeat the BJP in Nemom in the previous Assembly polls, he added.
Emphasising the front’s ideological position, Vijayan said the LDF has never compromised with communal forces of any kind.
He underlined that the LDF’s approach remains firmly rooted in secular principles and opposition to all forms of communal politics.
Reiterating that the government views both majority and minority communalism as unacceptable, the chief minister said Kerala has not witnessed communal riots over the past decade due to his government’s consistent stance against communalism.
Vijayan also said the state government has taken strong positions against measures of the Centre, including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, to safeguard minority interests.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition, he alleged that the Congress had, in the past, sought the support of the SDPI and shown leniency towards policies influenced by the RSS at the national level.
