K Surendran criticizes CPM's M V Govindan, accuses party of one-sided narrative and communal appeasement

PALAKKAD: BJP state president K. Surendran criticized M.V. Govindan, accusing him of presenting only one side of the facts as the reasons for CPM's crushing defeat. Surendran, speaking at a press conference in Palakkad, claimed that Govindan did not mention how the Muslim community voted. According to Surendran, Govindan stated that the BJP won because it received votes from SNDP and backward Hindu groups. He suggested that the BJP also received Christian votes in some areas, contributing to the LDF's significant loss, and accused the CPM of threatening the SNDP by making such claims.

Surendran argued that baseless allegations are being made against the SNDP and its General Secretary. He questioned whether the CPM has assessed how the Muslim community voted in Alappuzha and Kozhikode, accusing the Chief Minister of unprecedented Muslim appeasement. He noted that the Citizenship Act was a key election issue, claiming it suggested Muslims would become second-class citizens. Surendran urged Govindan to clarify for whom the Muslims in the CPM voted, asserting that they all supported the UDF. He criticized Muslim comrades in the CPM for backing the UDF, even at the expense of their Muslim candidates, and questioned why Govindan remained silent about the Muslim organizations involved.

Surendran highlighted instances where Muslim comrades celebrated victories in Palakkad and Kalpatta and stated that this behavior is common in Manjeswaram, now widespread across Kerala. He accused the CPM of self-destructive communal appeasement and promised that no community in Kerala would suffer for voting for the BJP. He condemned the CPM's assertion that voting for the BJP was a mistake, calling it anti-democratic, and accused the CPM of resorting to open violence after bomb-making. He cited violence against BJP workers in the CPM village in Payyannur as an example and warned that such actions would not be tolerated.