The exchange has only added to the strain between the Congress and the CPI(M), coming just a day before the INDIA bloc’s virtual meeting scheduled for 7 pm on Saturday.
Published Jul 18, 2025 | 11:49 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 18, 2025 | 11:49 PM
CPI(M) accused Rahul Gandhi of displaying "selective memory"
Synopsis: Ahead of a crucial INDIA bloc meeting, Rahul Gandhi’s sharp criticism of the CPI(M) during a memorial event in Kerala has reignited tensions between the Congress and its national ally. Gandhi accused both the CPI(M) and RSS of lacking emotional connection with the people, drawing a swift rebuttal from CPI(M) leaders who termed the remarks “absurd and condemnable.”
On the eve of a crucial INDIA bloc strategy meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has stirred political waters with a sharp attack on the CPI(M) – a key national ally of the Congress but a fierce rival in Kerala.
Speaking at a commemorative event marking the second death anniversary of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Puthuppally, Kottayam, Gandhi accused both the CPI(M) and the RSS of being emotionally disconnected from the public.
“While I battle the RSS and CPI(M) ideologically, my biggest complaint of them is that they do not have feelings for people. If you cannot feel for the people, connect with them, or hug them, you cannot be a leader,” Gandhi said, highlighting what he described as an emotional vacuum in Indian politics.
“The real tragedy of Indian politics today is that very few care enough to listen or understand what others are going through,” he added.
The CPI(M) central leadership issued a strongly worded response, calling Gandhi’s remarks both “absurd and condemnable”.
“In his absurd and condemnable comment equating the RSS and the CPI(M), Rahul Gandhi forgets who is actually resisting the RSS in Kerala. The CPI(M) has lost countless dedicated workers fighting saffron terror. Meanwhile, in Kerala, the Congress and RSS often speak in the same anti-communist tone – and Rahul Gandhi, the moment he steps into Kerala, echoes that same language.”
The exchange has only added to the strain between the Congress and the CPI(M), coming just a day before the INDIA bloc’s virtual meeting scheduled for 7 pm on Saturday.
The meeting – to be convened by Rahul Gandhi – is expected to shape the opposition’s strategy for the Monsoon Session, which begins on 21 July.
It will also mark the bloc’s first formal engagement since 6 June, two days after the Lok Sabha election results were declared.
However, the alliance appears increasingly fragile, with the AAP and the TMC already maintaining a distance.
Senior leaders of the CPI(M) in Kerala have come out strongly against Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of displaying “selective memory” and engaging in “absurd political doublespeak” in his repeated attacks against the Left – even as the Congress seeks Left support at the national level to take on the BJP.
“This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has taken potshots at us,” said a senior CPI(M) leader.
“At the national level, Congress is desperately trying to stitch together an alliance to fight the BJP, knowing well that the battle against the Sangh Parivar cannot be won single-handedly. Yet, the very leader they project as their future keeps letting them down.”
He continued: “Time and again, when he’s in Kerala, Rahul targets the CPI(M). Then, just a day later in Delhi, he wants to throw his arm around us as if nothing happened. It’s pure absurdity.”
CPI(M) leaders particularly took exception to Rahul’s campaign speech in Kannur during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which he questioned why Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan remained “untouched” by central agencies despite allegations against him.
Rahul had contrasted Vijayan’s apparent immunity with the arrest of two chief ministers from other states, raising suspicions about selective targeting by investigative agencies.
CPI(M) leaders said these remarks echoed his 2019 campaign launch in Kerala, where he accused the CPI(M) government of political violence – citing the deaths of two young Congress workers – and slammed its flood relief response and job creation efforts. “Even back then, his speech was more about attacking us than confronting the BJP,” a leader noted.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s latest claim that the CPI(M) lacks emotional connect with the people, another senior Left leader shot back: “If we didn’t have a connect with the people, how did we win back-to-back terms? It’s easy to throw barbs when you barely visit your constituency (referring to his term as Wayanad MP and the allegation that he barely visited the constituency). Maybe he doesn’t know the issues we faced or how we handled them.”
Taking a pointed dig at the Wayanad MP’s alleged absenteeism, the leader said, “Rahul Gandhi may be unaware that it’s the CPI(M) that has so far kept the Sangh Parivar at bay in Kerala. If Congress had been in charge, the BJP would have already gained ground. The Congress’s half-hearted secularism and compromises make them secret allies of the BJP – we are the real ideological bulwark.”
Meanwhile, an official response from the CPI(M) state leadership is yet to come.
At the same time, the Congress has hit back, accusing the CPI(M) of having a covert understanding with the BJP.
A major flashpoint, they point out, has been the relentless attacks launched by the CPI(M) when Rahul Gandhi chose to contest from Wayanad – a move the Left interpreted as an attempt by the Congress to encroach on their influence in Kerala, where they lead the government.
Leaders like MV Govindan and Pinarayi Vijayan have used public platforms to frame Gandhi’s candidacy as divisive, accusing him of trying to destabilise the secular front in the state, some leaders point out.
Their critique often carries a tone of derision, painting Gandhi as politically immature or inconsistent. This was evident in their mocking response to his wealth redistribution comments and other policy stances.
A senior Congress leader countered this narrative, saying, “In some Left-aligned platforms, the question is raised – how can Rahul Gandhi criticise the CPI(M), a key member of the INDIA bloc? But conveniently forgotten is the fact that CPI(M) leaders in Kerala have repeatedly launched personal and political attacks on Rahul Gandhi, even after joining the bloc.”
Referring to Gandhi’s recent speech in Puthuppally, the leader added, “What he said there was simply the truth. And speaking the truth should never be seen as a crime. That is what the Congress stands for – upholding the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.”
The leader further questioned the CPI(M)’s disconnect with ground realities:
“If the CPI(M) truly understands the pulse of the people, then why are ASHA workers on the streets? Why are thousands of qualified youth still waiting for PSC appointments? Why are pensioners, farmers, students, and tribal communities staging protests across the state? These aren’t isolated issues – they’re symptoms of a system that has turned its back on the people it claims to serve.”
“The list is endless,” the Congress leader concluded, “and it only underscores the hypocrisy in the CPI(M)’s claim of representing people’s struggles.”
