Cong-CPM slugfest puts question mark on opposition unity

NEW DELHI: Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra metamorphosed into a battle ground between national opposition partners Congress and the Left, with the latter questioning the grand old party’s decision to have the yatra in Kerala, where LDF is in power and Congress the principal opposition, for 18 days instead of targeting a BJP-ruled state like Uttar Pradesh for a longer duration.
The war of words intensified after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit back by referring to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan as “mundu (wearing) Modi” and the Left as the “A team of BJP” in Kerala.
Though a section of both parties said state-level rivalries should best be left to the local leaders to respond to, Ramesh’s remarks sparked a string of criticism from Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja, and Rajya Sabha MPs Elamaram Kareem and John Brittas.
Oddly, while the local Left units said on Tuesday they had no reason to oppose the Bharat Jodo Yatra but would respond to any “unfair criticism” or “unsavoury remarks” against the party, Raja unleashed a sharp criticism of Congress, the first since opposition leaders began talking of cobbling together “opposition unity” against BJP in a run up to the 2024 general elections.
“INC is leading the #BharatJodoYatra but their government in Chhattisgarh is not allowing CPI to undertake a 100 km padyatra on tribal issues. CPI is consistently raising the issues of marginalised. INC should introspect to take a democratic and ideologically coherent position,” Raja said.
Brittas’, on the other hand, trained his guns at Ramesh, in particular.