Congress Responds to Vijayan’s Remark on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Old Name’

Congress Responds to Vijayan’s Remark on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Old Name’

The Kerala Chief Minister retaliated on Friday, stating he was not frightened to go to jail, a day after Congressman Rahul Gandhi assailed Pinarayi Vijayan, questioning why the Marxist leader was not being detained or arrested by federal officials. Vijayan also mentioned “an old name of Rahul Gandhi” in a jab at Gandhi, implying that he had not changed his public persona over time. Speaking at a sizable Kozhikode election rally, Vijayan remarked, “Rahul Gandhi, you have an old name. A circumstance shouldn’t exist if you haven’t moved on from it yet. Vijayan was alluding to the comments made ten years prior by Marxist veteran and former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, in which he denounced Gandhi for being an “Amul Baby.”

He also mentioned the time when Rahul’s grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was in power and claimed that during the emergency, she had imprisoned most Left politicians, including him. “Most of us had spent more than a year and a half in prison, thanks to your grandma. Enough incarceration and questioning have happened to and been witnessed by us. We have no fear of prisons. Thus, please stop threatening us with jail time and investigations; we are not concerned, Vijayan stated. Vijayan planned to use his “old name” jab on Friday to allude to Achuthanandan’s “Amul baby” comments made against Gandhi, according to CPI (M) officials who spoke with the Press Trust of India. Whether he was alluding to the “Pappu” jab was another matter of conjecture.

CONGRESS HITS

Senior Congressman Ramesh Chennithala took offense at the attack on Gandhi and criticized Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan harshly, accusing him of “stooping too low to please” Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Kozhikode rally. “Vijayan should not have stooped so low to please Modi,” Chennithala remarked, denouncing Vijayan’s accusations against Gandhi. Vijayan was also encouraged by a member of the Congress Working Committee Committee (CWC) to apologize to Rahul and take back his “bad remarks” against him.

“Vijayan works as the BJP’s mouthpiece in Kerala,” remarked V. D. Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, in response to the Chief Minister’s ongoing attacks on Gandhi during his election rallies. “At press conferences and meetings, the same message that has been drafted and prepared for the past 35 days is presented. At a news conference in Alappuzha, Satheesan claimed that the Chief Minister targets Rahul Gandhi and the Congress the most. “Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the India coalition and the anti-fascist movement. Chief Minister Vijayan is also against Rahul Gandhi, whom the Modi government is relentlessly pursuing. Fear is Vijayan’s master. In the elections, there would be a significant backlash against the CPM and BJP’s illegal partnership, according to Satheesan.

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RAHUL GANDHI’S ATTACK ON VIJAYAN

Gandhi attacked Vijayan on Thursday during speeches at many election campaigns in the state, questioning why the Left politician was singled out for criticism while he was engaged in battle with the BJP. The Congress spokesman claimed that the Kerala Chief Minister was not subjected to the 55-hour ED interrogation, denial of his official residence or his right to vote in the Lok Sabha, or the imprisonment of two other chief ministers. “Why aren’t the ED, CBI, and other agencies questioning Vijayan? Why is the Kerala CM not facing any of this while two CMs are behind bars? While I’ve been criticizing the BJP nonstop, the chief minister is criticizing me in return. This is somewhat perplexing, Gandhi remarked.