This comes as a shot in the arm for Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) as the Kerala unit of the Congress has refused to join the high profile protest Vijayan is leading. The LDF has widely publicised Stalin’s support to its struggle against the BJP-led Union Government to highlight the lack of support from the Congress which is leading the INDIA bloc.
The DMK CM, while supporting the Kerala CM, also tagged West Bengal’s CMMamata Banjeree in his post on social media platform X. “These are the voices of other leaders who speak with firm attachment to the Constitution of India like myself and Comrade Vijayan in the South, along with sister Mamata Banerjee in the East. Our principles are the same,” tweeted, in a subtle criticism of the grand old party’s refusal to find common cause with its INDIA block allies.
He assured the Kerala government that his party would participate in Delhi wearing black shirts in the Parliament premises. “Our voice will not rest until we establish cooperative federalism and win state autonomy,” he said, under the now-viral hashtag #SouthTaxMovement.
While Vijayan had invited Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty to back the protest, the leaders refused to overstep the regional political boundary. In an open letter to the CM, Satheesan had called Kerala a “haven for tax dodgers,” and had alleged that the LDF’s mismanagement was also to blame for the state’s financial woes.
The Congress’ stance has drawn flak from its one-time coalition partner and now BJP-ally JDS in Karnataka, with former CM HD Kumaraswamy accusing the party of playing “two-headed politics.” The same Congress, while seeking support from MPs from all parties, boycotted the assembly session in Kerala when it passed a resolution against the Centre. The Congress has blamed the LDF for the state’s financial woes and accused it of wasting tax-payers’ money. “In that case, what is the Congress government in Karnataka doing in the name of guarantees?” the JDS leader wondered.
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