A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that Communist parties would soon disappear from the world and that only BJP has a future in the country, the CPI(M) on Sunday hit back at the saffron party by saying it has been able to increase its numbers only by "buying MLAs, MPs of its political opponents".
Veteran CPI(M) leader from Kerala and Politburo member M A Baby, speaking to reporters here, alleged that the BJP has been able to increase its numbers in the country by buying off MLAs and MPs of the opposition, especially the Congress. "That is the kind of corrupt politics BJP is practicing. Also, MLAs of Congress are willing to be bought," Baby alleged.
He further alleged that the one seat BJP had secured in Nemom assembly constituency was won with Congress votes in the 2016 state polls. "When Amit Shah is talking about the lotus bloom in Kerala, he probably is not aware that the only lotus flower that was here has decayed," the senior Left leader said referring to the Nemom seat being won by CPI(M) in 2021.
"That is the position of BJP in Kerala. His wish that there will be a change in this situation is a daydream," Baby further said.
He was responding to Shah's attack on the Left parties at a Scheduled Caste conference organised by the BJP at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. The Union Home Minister had said, "Congress is disappearing from India while the Communist party is on the verge of extinction from the world. In Kerala, only the BJP has a future. The Congress party and the Communists never worked for the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes. They treated them as mere vote banks".
Shah also challenged the Congress and the Communist parties to come forward and explain what they have done for the downtrodden communities so far.
In his response to the Union Home Minister's claims, Baby said that one in five persons of the world population was living in countries where steps are being taken to end exploitation of people. He also said that he was not taking into account the population of Kerala or that of South Africa and Latin American nations where Communism has a substantial presence. "So, world over the situation of those believing in Communism is not as bad as Amit Shah thinks it is. That is the factual position," he contended.