Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan accuses Congress of adopting 'soft Hindutva' stance

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday lambasted the Congress in the state assembly, accusing the grand old party of adopting a 'soft Hindutva' stance, and asserting that it has failed to uphold Nehruvian secularism.

In his response to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's Policy address, Vijayan criticised the actions of the opposition party in the state, pointing out that Rahul Gandhi visited a temple in Assam during the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, and that Congress governments in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh had organised special celebrations 'What message was the Congress trying to convey through this? Is it possible to combat extreme communalism with soft communalism?' he asked.

Vijayan alleged that it is clear from these actions that the Congress is embracing 'soft Hindutva' instead of countering the BJP's communal agenda. "The Congress is not able to follow Nehruvian secularism. It is adopting a soft Hindutva policy," he asserted.

In his address, Vijayan cited the Karnataka Congress government's instruction to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to conduct special pujas at all state-run temples, and the Himachal Pradesh government declaring a public holiday during the Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22.

Vijayan also made a veiled but hard-hitting attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the act of administrators appearing as priests in religious ceremonies would shake the foundation stones of a secular country.

Rulers represent different castes and religions in the country, he said, apparently referring to the recent participation of Modi as 'yajman' in the consecration ceremony of Ayodhya temple.

Stating that religious beliefs and worship of God are among the rights of a person of any religion, he said no one has the right to harm it. However, the Sangh Parivar forces are trying to once again come back to power by projecting Gods during elections and by exploiting religious sentiments for narrow political gains, the Left veteran further alleged.