MA Baby criticizes Rahul Gandhi for equating CPI(M) with RSS
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New Delhi: The CPI(M) has taken strong exception to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks equating the Left party with the RSS, calling the statement unwarranted and inappropriate.
CPI(M) Politburo member M.A. Baby condemned the Congress MP’s comments, stating that while the Left often criticizes the Congress, it never draws a parallel between the Congress and the BJP.
“We do criticize Congress also when the occasion comes. But we would never equate Congress with the BJP. Whereas, Mr. Rahul Gandhi equated RSS and CPI(M). It was a statement which was unwanted and should have been avoided by the Leader of the Opposition,” Baby said in a statement to IANS.
Rahul Gandhi made the contentious remark on Friday while paying tribute to former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Puthuppally on his second death anniversary. During his speech, Gandhi said both the RSS and CPI(M) lacked empathy, a trait he believed Chandy embodied.
“If you are not going to connect with people, touch their hearts, then no one can be a leader,” Gandhi said, adding, “The tragedy in Indian politics is that leaders don’t feel for the people.”
He also accused the CPI(M), without mentioning specific incidents, of launching a slander campaign against Chandy, an apparent reference to the solar scam case that the Left repeatedly used against the UDF during the 2016 and 2021 elections. Although Chandy was later cleared by the courts, the prolonged political and legal battles are believed to have affected his health.
Gandhi’s comments sparked a backlash from the Left, with Rajya Sabha MP and journalist-turned-politician John Brittas sharply criticizing the Congress leader on social media. Brittas, known to be close to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, wrote, “Congress seems determined to keep Rahul Gandhi politically naive.”
He accused Gandhi and his sister of making safe attacks on the RSS from Wayanad, a stronghold of their ally the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), without taking real political risks. Brittas also accused the Congress of historical double standards, referencing the party’s role in the events surrounding the Babri Masjid demolition and its alleged complicity in enabling the BJP’s rise.
“Ironically, much of what Rahul knows about the RSS may have come from our late leader, Sitaram Yechury,” Brittas added.
