KochiCommunist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday said the Congress party is adopting ‘soft Hindutva’ which has made it weaker than in the past and hence, it is looking forward to take on the BJP and the RSS. It is not in a position to remove them from the position of controlling the government.
Speaking to the media on the third day of the four-day party state convention in Ernakulam, Yechury said that it is the Left alone which is “ideologically, politically and organizationally capable of meeting the challenge posed by the Hindutva forces at present”. “The Hindutva agenda of RSS and BJP can be defeated only by firm adherence to secularism. Any adoption of ‘soft Hindutva’ will only increase the agenda of Hindutva forces and that is what Congress does.”
read also
“The Congress today, as compared to the past, is much weaker and many in the BJP and the RSS do not see it as a major threat,” he said. Mainly because at any point of time, any of its leaders can be tempted to join the BJP, as has happened many times. Therefore, a weak Congress would be unable to face the challenge of the Hindutva agenda, he said. Its compromising approach will not help in taking the BJP out of the government’s control, he added.
Therefore, there is a need for a strong Left which is able to bring all secular groups together to counter the Hindutva forces, he said. The ruling CPI(M)’s four-day state convention is being held ahead of its 23rd party Congress which is scheduled to be held in Kannur from April 6-10. Around 450 delegates including observers are participating in the conference. On the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Yechury said the party wants Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare a ceasefire and that Ukraine destroy its NATO infrastructure and remain a neutral country.
He said no patriot would oppose the central government’s rescue and evacuation efforts, but supporting it did not mean “appreciating the government’s steps”. He said the Indian government wanted the students to move out of war-torn Kharkiv to other nearby cities amid freezing temperatures, with no food or water and constant firing. “We have already lost a precious life and this should not happen again,” he said.