Left hits out at Rahul Gandhi for Kollam photo-ops, reminds Cong of Italian sailors who shot Kerala fishermen

The Left in Kerala lashed out at senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his photo-ops at Kollam and his remarks against Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan government.

This all-out attack against Rahul Gandhi by senior Left leaders in Kerala on Thursday was the second day in succession that the Left made these scathing remarks against the Nehru-Gandhi scion.

The CPI-M state Secretariat had, on Wednesday, slammed Gandhi, saying he was speaking “like a recruiting agent of the BJP”. Gandhi then slammed the CPI-M and linked the gold smuggling case to the office of the Kerala Chief Minister. He said that if one carries a CPI-M flag, then they will get jobs through the backdoor.

Congress govt in Centre let Italian marines go free after they shot Kerala fishermen, alleges CPI(M)

Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) Politburo member and former state minister M.A. Baby on Thursday said that if this was the way Gandhi was campaigning in Kerala for the Congress-led United Democratic Front, it would be an easy victory for the Left in the Assembly elections. He hinted that Rahul Gandhi spells trouble for the Congress party, when he said that the Congress government in Puducherry collapsed when Rahul Gandhi was busy touring his Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad.

“If nonsense is going to be said by Rahul and (Congress General Secretary) Priyanka (Gandhi) during the Assembly election campaign, it would be easy for the Left. We all saw (Rahul) Gandhi driving a tractor in Wayanad the other day… what he should have done was, using that time, he should have gone to Puducherry and try to save his party’s government,” he said.

Senior CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam on Thursday also made scathing remarks on Gandhi’s recent photo-ops in the seas at Kollam. He said that the Gandhi “show” in the Kollam seas on Wednesday ― where he travelled on a fishing boat, interacted with fisherfolk, jumped into the sea and frolicked in the ocean’s waters ― was superficial, lacking sum and substance. It also had no serious concern for the fishing community, he added.

“If he (Rahul Gandhi) really had any real concern for the fishing community he would have visited the house of the fishermen (at Kollam) who, while fishing in the high seas, were shot dead by two Italian naval officers. It was the then Congress government in the Centre which saved them because they were Italians,” he alleged.

Left is sleeping sleep over Gandhi, says Congress leader

Responding to these attacks, AICC General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member K.C.Venugopal on Thursday told the media that the CPI-M in Kerala is feeling jittery about Gandhi and the way he has entered into the hearts of people of Kerala. He said that the CPI-M in Kerala was losing sleep over Gandhi and that Gandhi does not require any certificate from the CPI-M.

“It would be good for the CPI-M not to forget that in Tamil Nadu, their candidates used the picture of Gandhi and won the Lok Sabha polls there,” he said.

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