The CPI(M) seeks to entice the UDF constituent IUML by upholding the Palestine cause while the Congress has to tread a tightrope.
A pro-Palestine rally by Muslim Youth League. (Facebook/ET Muhammed Basheer)
The raging Israel-Palestine conflict has sparked a heated debate in Kerala where Muslims comprise 26.56 percent of the total population, with talk also revolving around the possibility of a political realignment in the state.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second-largest constituent of the Congress-led Opposition alliance UDF, took out a massive “Human Rights Rally” in solidarity with Palestine in the Kozhikode district in October. Attended by more than one lakh party workers, it became India’s largest show of strength against Israel’s action in the Gaza Strip.
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Shashi Tharoor was the chief guest at the rally. The massiveness of the rally was overshadowed by a point the Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram raised during his 32-minute speech.
It became a hot topic as a section of society painted him as anti-Palestine. The trigger was Tharoor’s 25-second reference to the 7 October terrorist attack that started the conflict.
Despite the lawmaker reiterating that he has always been with the people of Palestine, the debate raged on. It even put the IUML in an awkward position, with community organisations blaming the party for inviting Tharoor to the rally.
Most Muslim groups in Kerala felt labelling Hamas — which they consider as an Islamic resistance movement — as a terrorist organisation was an imperialistic view.
A sizeable section within the IUML also questioned the leadership’s decision to invite Tharoor instead of Congress heavyweights like Ramesh Chennithala, who shared the IUML’s position on Palestinian matters.
IUML leaders MK Muneer and Abdussamad Samadani were forced to “correct” Tharoor publicly after the Kozhikode rally.
Somewhat bemused to learn of the attacks on me by those who, out of a 32-minute speech, have chosen to dwell on the 25 seconds in which I denounced the terrorist attacks of October 7 that triggered the current cycle of violence & disproportionate retribution. If that’s all it… pic.twitter.com/BfOit4q9JT
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 27, 2023
To the UDF’s embarrassment, the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF used Tharoor’s statement as a political tool and accused the Congress of diluting Palestinian concerns. The Marxists also accused the Congress of being subservient to the BJP’s foreign policy.
For the CPI(M), the West Asian crisis has provided an effective foundation to woo Muslims ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year, besides creating fissures within the UDF and its substantial Muslim support base.
With several political goals in mind, the CPI(M) would be holding a rally in solidarity with Palestine in Kozhikode on 11 November, coinciding with the 19th death anniversary of Yasser Arafat, former chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
The CPI(M) has already extended invitations to the leaders of various Muslim organisations, including the Samastha Kerala Jem Iyyathul Ulema, an influential body of Sunni religious scholars, as well as the Kerala Muslim Jamaat and Mujahid factions to the rally, which would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Additionally, the CPI(M) has made a calculated move by inviting IUML leaders to the event while the Congress has been left out.
In July this year, the CPI(M) tried a similar experiment by inviting Muslim organisations to a seminar on the Uniform Civil Code. However, the IUML declined the invitation, stating that it would not jeopardise its long-standing alliance with the Congress.
However, on 2 November, IUML’s national organising secretary ET Mohammed Basheer, MP, expressed willingness to attend the CPI(M) rally, if invited. His statement stirred a controversy and sparked rumours about a possible political realignment in the state.
Though IUML state secretary PMA Salam was cautious and stressed that the party leadership meeting would decide on the CPI(M) invitation, Basheer’s statement has caused much consternation in the Congress.
Congress state president K Sudhakaran’s reported analogy to a dog in response to Basheer’s statement further complicated the issue.
Kerala state Congress chief K Sudhakaran. (ksudhakaraninc/Facebook)
“Should I start barking now thinking that I will be a dog in my next life,” Sudhakaran responded to Basheer’s statement that he would attend the CPI(M) programme if invited. The analogy angered the League.
IUML sources told South First the party has expressed its displeasure to the Congress leadership over Sudhakaran’s comment. They further said that the party also asked Congress why it had not organised a pro-Palestine rally in the state.
As in the case of the Uniform Civil Code issue, the IUML demanded the Congress adopt a stern stand on the Palestine issue.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) insiders told South First that the party had succeeded in creating fissures within the UDF. They stated that the party could make political gains even if the IUML succumbed to the Congress pressure and declined the invitation to attend the rally.
Meanwhile, Sudhakaran retracted his statement and Basheer clarified that his remark carried no political intent. The IUML leader emphasised that it was time everyone united in support of the Palestinian cause.
According to CPI(M) leader P Mohanan, the Congress would not be invited to the rally, since it has made its stand clear through persons such as Tharoor, who “called” Hamas a terrorist organisation.
Meanwhile, the IUML’s scepticism over the CPI(M)’s overtures to the Samastha, as well as the latter’s willingness to accept the Marxist party’s invitation, has been consoling the Congress. The Samastha was not formally invited to the IUML’s massive 26 October rally.
With the CPI(M) cosying up to the Samastha and attempting to engineer a split in the UDF, the IUML has found itself in a precarious position since any decision it might take could have a significant impact on its future.
Meanwhile, the Christian community, especially the Catholics, have been backing Israel. A significant number of Christians from Kerala have been working in Israel either as caregivers or in the health sector.
The Christian support of Israel has put the Congress in an unenviable position. Deepika, the church’s mouthpiece, has written an editorial against forces that support the terrorist outfit Hamas, reminding its readers that it was Hamas who started the new round of conflict.
While retaining its relationship with the IUML, the Congress has been hoping to regain the Christian votes in the state. Many Catholic bishops, however, have come out in support of Israel, requiring the Congress to tread a tightrope.
On Friday, 3 November, CPI(M) Central Committee member AK Balan lauded the IUML for its bold and progressive stances. Balan asserted that the IUML has an “increasing affinity” towards the CPI(M)’s political ideas.
According to a UDF insider, the IUML know all this is part of the CPI(M)’s attempt to isolate the Congress politically and thereby destabilise the Opposition alliance.
He stated that the IUML was hoping to avoid such a backlash because it has no fundamental disagreements with the Congress. The Congress has hinted that it would consider the IUML’s demand for more seats in northern Kerala in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He added that the IUML was also dissatisfied over the Congress’s failure to use its INDIA bloc platform to send a clear message of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
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