Kerala CM picks up on Congress' discord on Ram Mandir; 'difference with BJP narrowing'

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday accused the Congress party of compromising on its ideology and alleged that differences between that party and the BJP were "narrowing down" in the country. Addressing a press conference, the Communist Party (M) leader cited the donation given by senior Congress leaders like Digvijaya Singh for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and said it was a "dangerous move".

'This is a very dangerous move': Kerala CM

"Congress should realise that such a move amounts to giving recognition to the position being taken by the RSS," Vijayan said. He said this in response to a query on the controversy over a Congress MLA in Kerala recently making a donation for the construction of the Ram temple. Congress MLA Eldhose Kunnappiily had made a contribution to the RSS workers last week, kicking up a row in the state, PTI reported. 

When some Muslim groups protested in front of his residence against the donation, the Perumbavoor MLA had apologised, claiming he was 'misled' by Sangh Parivar workers and was not aware that the donation was for the temple. Lashing out at the Congress, Vijayan said the MLA was following the footsteps of his party's important leaders like Digvijaya Singh on the issue. "This is a very dangerous move", the Chief Minister said.

"They (the Congress) are compromising with such issues as they think that they will lose the votes of a section", he said, adding that the Congress would not be able to oppose the communal forces. He cited the political developments in Puducherry, where Congress MLAs quit the party and their reported move to join the BJP and said, "the differences between the Congress and BJP are narrowing down".

READ | Mumbai Mayor warns of another lockdown as daily COVID cases rise: '60% not wearing masks'

READ | Kiran Bedi removed as Puducherry L-G post CM's 'recall' demand; Telangana Guv replaces her

Congress divided over Ram Temple funding?

Earlier this month, amid reports that the Congress' student wing has launched a campaign in Rajasthan to collect money for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, senior party leader Manish Tewari said the development underscores once again the need for a candid and conceptual discussion within the party on a host of core ideological issues.

Neeraj Kundan, president of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), however, said that as the head of the party's students' wing, he would like to make it clear, "we're not running any national campaign to collect any kind of donation for the Ram Mandir". The NSUI Rajasthan campaign was a symbolic protest to expose the organised loot by the RSS and the BJP in the name of Ram Mandir, he claimed.

READ | ACCESSED: Delhi police FIR connects 'Toolkit' to Republic Day violence, details here

READ | UP STF busts massive terror plot, arrests two PFI members with huge quantity of explosives

(With agency inputs)