Satheesan accuses CPI(M) of 'double standards' over Jamaat-e-Islami support to UDF

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 7 (PTI) Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Friday said the Congress-led UDF has no arrangements with the Jamaat-e-Islami but has accepted its support in elections since 2019.

He accused the CPI(M) of trying to create a communal issue over the matter.

In remarks that may become an issue in the campaign for the upcoming local body polls in the state, Satheesan, a prominent Congress leader, also alleged that the Islamist outfit had been with the CPI(M) for 30 years, during which time the Left party had no problems with it.

"Jamaat-e-Islami has supported us, and we have accepted that support. They are not part of the UDF nor one of its associate members, and there is no arrangement between them and us. They have been backing us since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls," Satheesan told a press conference in response to a query.

"But prior to that, for 30 years, they were with the CPI(M). At that time, the CPI(M) leaders had no problems. Senior CPI(M) leaders Pinarayi Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had even gone to their headquarters to seek their support," he said.

Accusing the CPI(M) of attempting to create communal tensions by raising the issue of Jamaat-e-Islami and its political wing, the Welfare Party, Satheesan said, "You (the media) should ask Chief Minister Vijayan when the Jamaat became a communal force. Was it when they stopped supporting the CPI(M) and began backing the Congress-led UDF?" He said a decision on expanding the UDF by adding smaller parties would be taken before the local body polls.

His statement on Jamaat-e-Islami assumes significance in view of the CPI(M) constantly targeting the Congress and its key ally, the Indian Union Muslim League, over their alleged links with the Islamist outfit to win elections in Kerala.

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan had recently alleged that the Congress and the Muslim League, along with the SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami, have come together to organise members of the minority community on extreme ideological grounds.

He said this move by the three parties would have long-lasting effects on Kerala's politics.

The CPI(M) has also accused these outfits of creating a situation conducive to the BJP’s growth in the state. PTI HMP TGB ROH