Thiruvananthapuram: The people who assassinated the 'Father of the Nation' are trying to make Mahatma Gandhi their own and interpret his statements in their favour, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday.
The CPM leader's remarks came as the BJP and its rival parties battled to claim Gandhi's legacy on his 150th birth anniversary.
Paying homage to the 'Father of the Nation', Pinarayi said the India that Gandhi fought for was an inclusive one, where no one was considered a pariah.
In a Facebook post, he said the values that Gandhi upheld remain relevant even after a century. "But today some are trying to take the country backwards from Gandhi's ideals."
"Those who assassinated Gandhi are trying to make Gandhi their own. They are trying to interpret Gandhi's statements in their favour," Pinarayi wrote.
In this context, this year's Gandhi Jayanti had assumed greater significance, he said.
Pinarayi, who paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kerala House in New Delhi, urged people to pledge themselves to safeguard his ideals.
"Mahatma's life has given us a moral imperative, to uphold the secular founding values of our republic," Pinarayi said in his post.
(With inputs from PTI)
