CPM Slams Rahul’s Remarks on Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM has criticised Rahul Gandhi for a remark that he "cannot hug" the former Chief Minister of Kerala due to an ongoing political dispute with him.

An audio clip of Rahul's speech, where he made these comments at a recent INDIA Alliance meeting, was shared on his YouTube channel on Friday.

"Nobody has asked Rahul Gandhi to hug Pinarayi Vijayan. On the contrary, all we are asking is that he stop acting as a facilitator for the ED and the Modi government by calling for the arrest of Pinarayi Vijayan and other opposition leaders. This is not the role of the Leader of the Opposition," CPM general secretary M A Baby stated on X.

Earlier on Saturday morning, Pinarayi Vijayan had criticised Rahul Gandhi, saying his political approach does not strengthen the India Alliance and often ends up helping the BJP.

He said he was not particularly concerned about Rahul's remarks that he would not hug him due to their political rivalry. "But we all saw the photograph of Rahul Gandhi hugging Narendra Modi. My objection is not to the act of hugging Modi itself, but to the political message his remarks convey. It reflects Rahul's approach and how he views the INDIA alliance.

"It’s not just us, but also leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, along with other major non-Congress parties, who raised objections during the meeting and spoke against the Congress position,” he said.