Ayodhya consecration virtual 'death knell of secularism', says CPI(M), warns Congress against 'soft Hindutva'

New Delhi: CPI(M) on Tuesday sent a subtle warning to the Congress saying, “recourse to competitive soft Hindutva and pale saffron positions” as one saw during the recent Assembly elections will only strengthen the Hindutva brigade.

It also said the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya has “virtually sounded the death knell of secularism” in the country, with the President and Vice President sending congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing him as having “redeemed a pledge” and “India’s tryst with destiny in its civilizational trajectory”.

The party, which held its three-day Central Committee meeting in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram that ended on Monday, said Hindutva communal consolidation must be “confronted in a forthright manner”.

The CPI(M)'s comments came as its I.N.D.I.A partner sought to take on the BJP in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The Left party highlighted certain initiatives with 'soft Hindutva' agenda promised and propagated by the Congress which failed to win them elections.

In its communique, the CPI(M) said the BJP registered victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while Congress won in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana in the last two rounds of the Assembly elections.

“BJP’s victories were mainly due to the consolidation of the Hindutva communal vote combined with a pernicious exploitation of caste sentiments. Hindutva communal consolidation must be confronted in a forthright manner,” it said.

“The recourse to competitive soft Hindutva and pale saffron positions only lead to further strengthening the hold of Hindutva on significant sections of the people. This provides the RSS/BJP and all other Hindutva outfits the opportunity for further communalising the society and targeting the minorities,” it said.

During the recent polls in north Indian states, Congress promised among other things a temple for Sita in Sri Lanka, developing localities linked to Ramayana. and government-sponsored pilgrimages.

Referring to the JD(U) deserting the I.N.D.I.A bloc and collaborating with the BJP, the CPI(M) said that will make all efforts to further strengthen this formation and continue the activities to defeat the BJP in order to safeguard the secular democratic character of the Constitutional Republic.

“The focus is to complete the ongoing state level talks on seats sharing between its constituents at the earliest and then proceed to reach out to the people on the basis of core issues that are aimed at improving their livelihood and defending Constitutional values,” it said.

On the Ram temple issue, the CPI(M) said the whole programme was a State-sponsored event. Calling it as an event “directly aimed at political and electoral gains”, it said the whole function was a direct violation of the fundamental principle of the governance of India as reiterated by the Supreme Court.