CPI(M) Seeks Clarification from Congress Over Allegations of Understanding with BJP Ahead of INDIA Bloc Meeting

Ahead of Monday's meeting of INDIA bloc constituents , CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby has sought clarification from the Congress over allegations made during the Kerala assembly election campaign that the Left party had an understanding with the BJP. According to sources, Baby wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, strongly criticising the party's attacks on the CPI(M). Copies of the letter were also sent to other INDIA bloc partners. An opposition leader who received the letter said Baby argued that the allegations, repeatedly made by senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Kharge, went beyond routine electoral rhetoric and struck at the basis of the opposition alliance formed to jointly challenge the BJP. Referring to the Congress campaign in Kerala, the CPI(M) leader accused the Congress of running a "systematic campaign" alleging that the Left and the BJP had reached a political arrangement and that the then chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan enjoyed a special understanding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Such charges, he said, were incompatible with the spirit of cooperation that underpinned the INDIA bloc.