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As the voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Kerala nears, the trading of barbs between leaders of the Left and Congress intensified on Sunday, with CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury saying that Congress' "credibility in fighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under cloud."
"Now the Congress is asking Prime Minister Modi to arrest the Kerala Chief Minister. Their credibility in fighting PM Modi is under cloud," Yechury told ANI here. "The criticisms are completely unfounded and we think it is very wrong for anybody to demand the arrest of a democratically elected Chief Minister. We have condemned the arrest of Delhi CM Kejriwal and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren," Yechury said. "I go by policies and programmes, and what are they raising? If they are asking PM Modi to arrest the Kerala Chief Minister, then I think that is the most undemocratic act that is being done," he added. Congress leaders in Kerala have been alleging that there is a backdoor understanding between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the BJP. That is why central investigation agencies go soft on corruption allegations against the Left government in the state, they say. Joining in the attack, Rahul Gandhi in a public rally in Kerala, wondered why Kerala CM has not been arrested when two other chief ministers from opposition are behind bars. "Two chief ministers (Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren) are in jail. How come this is not happening to the Chief Minister of Kerala? I am attacking the BJP 24/7, and the Chief Minister of Kerala is attacking me 24/7. This is a bit puzzling," Rahul said. While the CPI (M) and Congress are both part of the INDIA bloc, the two parties are engaged in a heated contest in Kerala, as in the majority of constituencies, the main fight is between the Left Democratic Front led by the CPI (M) and the United Democratic Front led by the Congress. The Left was particularly unhappy with the Congress' decision to field Rahul Gandhi again from the Wayanad constituency in Kerala, where the BJP is a marginal player. Many political observers argued that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Kerala in the 2019 general election helped the UDF attain a land slide victory in the state, winning 19 out of 20 seats. Kerala's 20 seats will go to the polls on April 26. (ANI)
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