Kerala CM Vijayan criticises Cong over alleged defections of leaders to BJP

Kerala Chief Minister and Marxist veteran Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday stepped up his criticism of the Congress, an ally of the INDIA bloc, asserting that its leaders were defecting to BJP, thus tarnishing its reliability at a critical juncture when secular forces confront the saffron party's dominance in the country.

The Marxist leader underscored that the future of the country stood in peril, with secularism and democracy facing significant threats.

''The future of the country is in danger. Secularism and democracy in the country are under threat. This election will decide the future of the country,'' Vijayan said.

Launching an election campaign in Wayanad, where senior CPI leader Annie Raja is contesting against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and BJP chief K Surendran, Vijayan lambasted the grand old party for its perceived unreliability.

Drawing attention to prior instances of Congress members switching allegiance to the BJP, Vijayan highlighted the grand old party's dwindling credibility, especially post elections.

''Twelve former chief ministers, numerous state congress chiefs, former union ministers, senior AICC leaders, numerous MLAs, MPs from Congress have joined BJP in the last five years,'' Vijayan said.

Urging the Congress to think about its stance toward various BJP's policies, Vijayan cautioned against the Congress inadvertently aiding the the saffron party's ascent to power.

''We should see that Congress is a party which helps the BJP. In many states, we have seen Congress coming to power and then handing over the regime to the BJP,'' he said, referring to the changes that had happened in certain states after Congress won elections there with a comfortable margin.

The senior Left leader cited the examples of various states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Goa and Madhya Pradesh where the Congress was elected to power but the BJP grabbed the MLAs and formed the government.

Vijayan urged the voters of Wayanad to elect Annie Raja and said she was at the forefront of all the major struggles in the country.

''She was never afraid of going to jail, unlike Congress leaders. She brought out the atrocities from Manipur,'' Vijayan said.

Kerala will go to the polls on April 26, and the results will be out on June 4.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)