Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M)’s senior Politbureau member Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday showered praises on China and accused India of changing its foreign policy in accordance with the anti-Beijing position of the US. Pinarayi’s alleged pro-China and anti-India statement came within two weeks of party’s State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan accusing India of being a member of a four-nation US-led anti-China axis.
“China is growing as a super power of the world. The US is making efforts to constitute broad military alliances against China in this context... India is transforming its foreign policy to suit the American moves against China,” Pinarayi said while inaugurating the delegates’ session of the CPI(M)’s district conference in Kannur, his home district.
Stating that China was coming up as a big force against the US which was trying to establish a one-world order, Pinarayi said that a huge resistance was taking shape from the side of several nations against the American designs. It was in this context that America was moving against China, the Chief Minister said.
However, he accused India of “deviating from its anti-imperialist policy of non-alignment” and becoming a “strategic ally of the US”. Pinarayi said, “India’s foreign policy had been found on the principle of non-alignment, which was against all kinds of imperialist tendencies. India’s foreign policy with regard to China has now become supportive of the US interests.”
Praising China further, Pinarayi said that Beijing was in the process of making great achievements on the economic front. Almost 30 percent of the global economic growth was being contributed by China and it had achieved all the goals it had set for itself including six percent to seven percent annual GDP growth rate, he said.
Pinarayi also praised Cuba for making its commitment to socialism clear and for making progress by overcoming all the challenges it was facing from the US. He had three weeks ago triggered a controversy by showering praises on North Korea and its ruler Kim Jong-un for the “tough anti-US stand” that country was taking.
Kerala’s ruling CPI(M) and its top leaders have been receiving brickbats from the Opposition parties as well as critics for the position it has been adopting on North Korea, China, US, Israel and India’s approach to these matters since the start of the conference process in preparation for its 22nd national congress to be held in Hyderabad in April.
It had started with the publicity posters – put up for the party’s area conference in Udumbanchola in Idukki district – flaunting pictures of the North Korean ruler. However, senior party leaders had adopted a stand that this was the handiwork of the local workers without the leadership’s knowledge and the posters disappeared from the streets.
That the praises showered on Kim Jong-un were not the product of imagination of some local CPI(M) workers became obvious when Pinarayi himself at the start of this month spoke about North Korea.
and its ruler in high esteem by congratulating Pyongyang for “successfully countering the strong pressure imposed by America”
Ten days later, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, also a senior Politbureau member, made an allegedly anti-national and unpatriotic statement that India had become a member of a four-nation US-led axis for attacking China from all sides mainly for the Chinese Communist party’s decision not to tolerate interference by other nations in its internal affairs.
Kodiyeri had also blamed America for “arming South Korea with the objective of destroying North Korea”. Kodiyeri’s statement had prompted the BJP to accuse the CPI(M) of sedition and to ask the Centre to institute a probe into the suspected financial connections and conspiracy behind its alleged pro-China and anti-India stand.