CPI(M) Stands Against All Communal Forces; No Need For Their Support in Assembly Polls

Ernakulam: CPI(M) State Secretariat member M Swaraj on Wednesday categorically stated that the party stands opposed to all communal organisations and has no need for the support of any such group, while launching a sharp attack on the Congress over what he described as a systematic culture of corruption within the party.

Speaking at a press conference in Ernakulam, Swaraj said the LDF had never been opposed to the Vizhinjam port project as such, but had consistently opposed moves to hand it over to the Adani group. He also recalled that projects including GAIL and national highway development were among those abandoned by the UDF government during its tenure.

On the FCRA, Swaraj said it was the Congress that had first introduced the legislation in its dangerous form, and that the BJP was now pursuing it in an even more hazardous direction.

Turning to the Congress, Swaraj alleged that party leaders had, upon losing power, resorted to selling seats as a means of generating funds. He said the Congress had opened a new chapter of corruption by putting up for sale everything from Assembly and Parliament seats to Rajya Sabha nominations, and that recent news reports had brought to light a series of fresh frauds, corrupt dealings, and scams linked to the party's leadership.

He added that although the Congress has spent the better part of a decade in national opposition, the loss of power had not brought corruption within the party to an end — rather, its leadership had gone in search of new opportunities for financial gain.