NEW DELHI: Accusing the Congress of an attitude towards opposition parties that comes in the way of building the unity of secular forces to fight against RSS-BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday cautioned that strengthening opposition unity was a necessity to counter the “growth of right wing forces”. .Reflecting on the INDIA bloc and the role of opposition parties in the aftermath of the outcome in the recent assembly polls and the way forward, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby highlighted the statement issued after the Central Committee meeting from May 22-24 that states that, “the growth of right-wing forces necessitates the unity of all Left, progressive, secular, and democratic forces.”“The attitude of the Congress towards other opposition parties is not helpful in building the unity of secular forces in a united fight against the RSS-BJP, which is the need of the hour,” the CPM said.“The Central Committee has “condemned the baseless allegations that the ‘CPI(M) had a deal with the BJP’, made by senior leaders of the Congress against our Party during the Kerala Assembly elections”.“These malicious comments were made against the CPI(M) – a committed fighter against communalism and a part of the INDIA bloc,” it added.However, Baby emphasised that the INDIA bloc parties will need to discuss and deliberate on fighting unitedly to contain the expanding footprint of the BJP.Agreeing that there were evident contradictions and differences among the INDIA bloc constituents in different states, Baby said the opposition will have to work around these differences aside and form a united strategy to counter the BJP in the Lok sabha elections in 2029. As an example he cited that the opposition should explore fielding one common candidate from the opposition bloc in an adequate number of seats in Lok Sabha polls with the aim to contain the BJP’s expansion and pave the way for its defeat. Baby said that during the review on the assembly election results the Central Committee (CC) had a preliminary discussion on the political, organisational and ideological reasons behind the recent election results.“The broad feature of these election results is the consolidation of Hindutva communal forces in the society and their assumption of power in West Bengal. Though the BJP could only win a nominal number of seats in Kerala and Tamilnadu, their spread is a major concern,” he said.“The victory of the RSS-BJP in West Bengal and its return to power in Assam are a matter of deep concern for all secular, progressive and democratic forces,” Baby added. He asserted that the CPI(M) will be in the forefront to defend peoples’ rights and ensure that communal harmony is protected.
