Kottayam: Senior CPM leader Subhashini Ali on Tuesday made an emotional appeal to the Christian voters of the Puthuppally assembly constituency highlighting the attack on the followers of the faith in BJP-ruled Manipur and Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh.
Addressing an election rally at Pampady to campaign for the LDF candidate Jaick C Thomas, Subhashini, a CPM politburo member, said Christians and minority communities were safe in Kerala but not in Chhattisgarh where a Congress government is in power.
She said 400 Christian churches were attacked in the past 10 years and 85 of them were in Chhattisgarh.
“When Christians were attacked in Chhattisgarh, neither the chief minister or ministers or even government officials did not bother to meet them. The CPM is a very small party there. Still Brinda Karat and other comrades went to them,” she said.
She also slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for ignoring the minority community in the tribal state. “Rahul Gandhi has time to take a bike trip to Ladakh. But he did not go to meet the Christians under attack in Chhattisgarh. The UDF workers of Kerala should ask him why,” she said.
UDF – United Democratic Front – is the Congress-led opposition alliance in Kerala.
She said only the CPM is fighting BJP and communalism in the country. “We have to fight against the BJP and communal forces. In this fight, it is also necessary to strengthen the Left and the CPM.,” she said.
Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu, Animal Welfare Minister J Chinchurani, former health ministers, K K Shylaja and P K Sreemathi, and woman leaders of several LDF allies attended the meet. The meet was followed by a road show with Jaick in Pampady town.
The Puthuppally bypoll, necessitated with the death of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who represented the constituency for a record 53 years, is scheduled for September 5. Votes will be counted on September 8.
Jaick who faced Oommen Chandy in the previous two assembly polls is fielded against the latter’s son Chandy Oommen and BJP’s Lijin Lal this time.
