Hyderabad, Feb 16 (PTI) CPI (M) General Secretary M A Baby on Monday said the setback suffered by ruling LDF in Kerala in the recent local body polls was temporary and that it would would win a third term in the coming assembly polls.
He also cited senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s statement that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF would retain power in the southern state.
Drawing a football analogy, he said, “in the last world cup, Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in the first match. But, Argentina did not lose any other match afterwards and they won the championship. So, our setback in the local body elections is going to be similar”.
LDF’s return to power is “vouchsafed” by Aiyar, Baby told reporters here.
“A Congress leader from Delhi coming and stating this, which is generally the thinking of the people,” he said.
Unmindful of the Congress national leadership’s criticism, Aiyar on Monday stood by his assertion that the LDF would retain power in Kerala.
In a setback to the LDF, BJP came to power in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala local body polls in December last year while the opposition Congress-led UDF put an an impressive show.
Training his guns on the NDA government at the Centre over trade agreements and other related issues, Baby asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi could “stand up and say that from where India should buy crude oil would be decided by India.” He alleged that India’s sovereignty was systematically being subjected to assault.
Referring to global oil purchases, Baby claimed US President Donald Trump restricted India from buying oil from some countries and now suggests buying crude from Venezuela.
He also said the CPI(M) decided to take up joint agitation programmes with others on the seed bill and legislation on higher education of the NDA government and other issues.
The latest Union Home Ministry’s order that all six stanzas of the National Song, “Vande Mataram” shall be sung at all official functions and other occasions is aimed at “sowing the seeds of division” in the minds of sections of people, he claimed.
“Ours is a secular Constitution. The order is a vandalism of the Constitutional arrangement,” he charged.
The CPI (M) leader said his party would organise a ‘Delhi March ‘ protest on March 24 in the national capital against the labour codes, the replacement of MGNREGA, trade agreements and what it termed as “anti-people policies” of the NDA government at the Centre.
The CPI(M) would also conduct a campaign across northern states ahead of the march, he said.
“We are planning a Delhi march in the month of March. In north Indian states, we are going to hold state level programmes and ‘Jathas’ (processions), mobilizing various sections of people… raising livelihood issues, we are going to march to Delhi,” he said.
Baby said he “expects” Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to decide against implementation of the labour codes brought in by the Centre.
He added that Revanth Reddy should advise his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah to desist from implementing the codes.
Responding to PM Narendra Modi’s comments in an interview to PTI that trade deals are made from a position of strength, Baby alleged that there has been never been a time that the country’s global standing has fallen so sharply. PTI SJR ROH
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