Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched a strong criticism against the Congress Party for the absence of Indian Union Muslim League’s green flags during Rahul Gandhi's roadshow in Wayanad on April 3. The flag of IUML has certain resemblance to the national flag of Pakistan, and during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had unleashed a campaign—especially in the northern states—claiming that in Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi had accepted the support of “jihadists carrying the Pakistani flag”. In order to avoid any such row, the UDF roadshow was decorated with tricolour balloons, caps and placards; however, there was a clear absence of big Congress or IUML flags in the roadshow.
C.P. Kunjumuhammad, a Muslim League leader from Meenangadi in Wayanad told THE WEEK that, it has been a joint decision from the League and the Congress to avoid the flags in the rally to avoid giving any kind of fodder to the communal politics of the BJP. “But now the CPI(M) and its mouthpiece is making this a flag controversy for their own gain,” he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the UDF decision to avoid flags at the roadshow an act of “cowardice”. Vijayan even levelled the criticism that Congress has failed to hoist its own flag fearing the “communal powers”. “It was Sangh Parivar which demanded the Congress to abandon the tricolour. Are they now yielding to it?” he asked.
The Chief Minister added that there was hope that the Congress would acknowledge the significance of the Indian Union Muslim League's flag, representing a party under which many Indian citizens rally. “Now, the Congress has even forsaken its own flag. Can they truly lead the struggle against the Sangh Parivar?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the CM didn't mince words, hinting that the Muslim League leadership might not feel valued within the UDF. “Why does the Congress insist on needing the Muslim League's votes while rejecting their flags?” he asked. Interestingly, in the past eighteen months, there have been several efforts by the CPI(M) labelled as attempts to attract the League—which holds significant political strength, especially in the Malabar area of Kerala— to the LDF.
Although the BJP couldn't initiate a 2019-style attack against Rahul Gandhi or the Congress, another development has enabled them to pursue a similar campaign in a different manner. This comes in the form of the Social Democratic Party of India, considered a political offshoot of the now-banned Islamist outfit PFI, declaring support for the UDF and the Congress in the upcoming elections.
The Congress party leadership reacted cautiously to this announcement. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President K. Sudhakaran stated that the Congress has no business with any radical outfit. "However, all votes are welcome, whether from the SDPI or the CPI(M)," he told the media. Similarly, Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan pointed out that it was understandable for the SDPI to see Congress as the "sole secular force against the Sangh Parivar."
On the contrary, the BJP leadership has launched a major campaign against the Congress, accusing them of striking a deal with the SDPI. BJP State President K. Surendran called Rahul Gandhi's "silence" on the SDPI's unconditional support for the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls "perilous."
Similarly, the BJP’s Kerala-in-charge, Prakash Javadekar, labelled this development as a "threat to national security." He raised the question, "Why do terrorists and their affiliates seem to support the Congress everywhere?" BJP will certainly continue to echo this question, not only in Kerala but also in other parts of the country.
