3 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Kerala: Congress striving hard to brand CPM ‘anti-Muslim'
MALAPPURAM: After a brief lull, in the wake of M Swaraj's dramatic entry into the Nilambur by-election fray and the overwhelming reception he received in the constituency, the Congress has hit the campaign trail with renewed vigour.
The grand old party first tried to brand the CPM as 'anti-Muslim'. But with P V Anwar also positioning himself along similar lines, Congress leaders have upped the ante, attacking the CPM for 'denigrating Malappuram' district by branding it a hub of anti-social activities.
The tone was set by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal during the UDF election convention. On Wednesday, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan turned on the heat saying that CPM leaders have been consistently targeting Malappuram. 'The PR agency of the chief minister issued a press release to a national daily in Delhi which said that extremist activities and gold smuggling are thriving in Malappuram. This is the narrative built by the Sangh parivar,' he said. 'The CPM leader assigned to lead the LDF campaign in Nilambur is the party politburo member A Vijayaraghavan. There have been at least a dozen statements from himinsulting the people of Malappuram,' Satheesan said.
