Rahul Gandhi (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of selectively raising religious issues and questioning his silence on the alleged Sabarimala gold theft case.Addressing an election rally in Kannur, Kerala, ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, Gandhi said, “When the so-called defender (the PM) of Hinduism comes to Keralam, he says nothing about Sabarimala,” he said.He further alleged inaction over the issue and accused leaders of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) of wrongdoing.“How is the BJP supporting the CM (Pinarayi Vijayan)? First, wherever the PM goes, he talks about temples, religion and gods. But when the PM comes to Keralam, he doesn’t raise the issue of the Sabarimala temple. CPM leaders stole gold from the Sabarimala temple, but no action has been taken against them,” Gandhi said. Gandhi claimed that there was an underlying understanding between the BJP and the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF in Kerala. He alleged that the chief minister was being shielded by the Centre.“Narendra Modi controls the Chief Minister of Kerala. The CM of Kerala knows that Narendra Modi is not acting on his cases; the CM knows that Narendra Modi has the key to putting the CM in jail right now. You will hear Congress attacking Narendra Modi, but you will never hear Kerala CM attacking Modi or Modi attacking Kerala CM,” he said.In another remark, Gandhi jibed at PM Modi. “The way Donald Trump controls Narendra Modi, the same way Narendra Modi controls the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said while addressing the rally.The Congress leader also claimed that the BJP preferred the LDF to remain in power in the state. “Modi wants LDF to win the Assembly elections in Kerala,” he said.Sharpening his attack on the Left, Gandhi said the CPI(M) had deviated from its ideological roots. “CPI(M) no longer Left party but extreme Right wing party,” he said.He framed the upcoming election as a contest between contrasting ideologies while alleging an unusual alignment between political rivals. “This election is a fight between two ideologies. The ideology of the Left Front CPM, the ideology of the UDF and the Congress party. And for the first time, we are seeing that there is a partnership between the BJP and the Left Front. Normally, this would be quite surprising that a Left party is allying with an extreme right party,” he said.The remarks come amid an intensifying political battle in Kerala, where both the ruling LDF and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) have accused each other of acting as the BJP’s “B-team.” Earlier, Gandhi had alleged that the LDF was “completely supported by BJP” and described the Left government as a “corporate-funded government,” claiming it no longer functioned as a true Left formation. He also suggested that the BJP preferred the LDF in power as it would be easier to influence compared to the Congress-led UDF.On the other hand, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has countered by accusing Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of acting as the BJP’s “B-team,” intensifying the war of words ahead of the high-stakes Assembly elections in the state.
