Remarks about Thangal: Satheesan accuses CM of pandering to Sangh Parivar

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has condemned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s derogatory comments about Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal, labelling them a blatant attempt to appease the Sangh Parivar.

The Chief Minister, while addressing a Left Democratic Front (LDF) election rally here on Sunday (November 17, 2024), had said that Mr. Thangal did not have the quality of his elder brothers and that he was behaving like a Jamat-e-Islami follower.

Mr. Satheesan argued that the Chief Minister’s comments were part of a larger pattern of targeting the Muslim community and Malappuram. “He said the same thing with regard to gold smuggling on September 13, September 21, and on September 29. That script was made in the same computer... and all to please the Sangh Parivar,” said Mr. Satheesan here on Monday.

“BJP president K. Surendran asks what is wrong in criticising Mr. Thangal. Both Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Surendran share the same language and intent,” he said.

Yardstick of performance?

Mr. Satheesan dared the CPI(M) to say if the Palakkad byelection would be an evaluation of the State government’s performance in the last three and half years. “We are ready to say it will be an evaluation of the Opposition’s performance in the State,” he said.

The Opposition Leader said that the State was grappling with a multitude of challenges, including poor governance, rising prices and an empty treasury, which has resulted in non-payment of social security pensions. The financial struggles, he said, are evident in the struggles of key institutions like KSRTC and KSEB. Welfare funds are in disarray, and the treasury’s emptiness is crippling public services, he said.

He said the State was losing massive revenue due to rampant tax evasion in the gold and liquor industries. Most universities in the State lack a permanent leadership, and are being run by in-charge vice chancellors, he said.

Mr. Satheesan warned that the Sangh Parivar workers, responsible for murdering Christians in Manipur, were approaching Christian homes in Kerala like a wolf in sheep’s hide. “Christians in Kerala will understand them. They cannot be hoodwinked,” he said.

Published - November 18, 2024 06:07 pm IST