Why did Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clash with Priyanka Gandhi over the Jamaat?

New Delhi. There are by-elections on Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala and today is the last day of campaigning. Here, Congress is surrounded on the issue of Jamaat-e-Islami. Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi have attacked each other. Pinarayi Vijayan has claimed that Congress-UDF alliance candidate Priyanka Gandhi has been supported by Jamaat and she is contesting the elections with the support of Jamaat. We all are familiar with the ideology of Jamaat.

On the other hand, on Sunday, Priyanka hit back and said that the election should be fought on the issue of development and attention should not be diverted from the issues. At present, Jamaat-e-Islami has once again become an issue in the Wayanad elections and the Left Front is leaving no stone unturned to corner the Congress.

Voting in Wayanad on November 13
Voting is to be held on November 13 in the by-election on Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. The election campaign will end here on Monday evening. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been an MP from this seat. This time he won from Wayanad and Rae Bareli. Later Rahul resigned from the Wayanad seat. Now Rahul’s sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is contesting for the first time from this seat. Priyanka is the candidate of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

Priyanka to face CPI and BJP candidates
In Wayanad, Priyanka’s direct contest is believed to be between Satyan Mokeri of the Left Front (CPI) and Navya Haridas of the BJP. Navya Haridas is a corporation councilor of Kozhikode. The Communist Party of India (CPI) is part of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala.

Rahul defeated CPI’s Annie Raja
When the Lok Sabha elections were held in April, Rahul Gandhi was also pitted against CPI’s Annie Raja from the Left Front and BJP candidate K. Surendran. However, Rahul defeated Annie Raja by more than 3 lakh 64 thousand votes. Annie Raja is the wife of CPI general secretary D Raja and is the general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).

What is the issue that is controversial in the by-election?
Kerala Chief Minister and senior Marxist leader Pinarayi Vijayan is continuously campaigning in support of CPI candidate Mokeri in Wayanad. He has attacked the Congress in the by-election campaign. Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is contesting the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election with the support of Jamaat-e-Islami. This organization is supporting Priyanka as a party.

Vijayan said that the Wayanad by-election has completely exposed the secular mask of the Congress. He asked, Priyanka Gandhi is contesting the election with the support of Jamaat-e-Islami. What is the stand of the Congress in reality? Our country is fully aware of Jamaat-e-Islami. Does the ideology of that organization match with democratic values? What does the Congress want to prove by taking support from them?

Vijayan further said, Jamaat-e-Islami does not believe in the structure of the nation and democracy and ignores the governance system of the country. This organization is working as a political participation in the form of a party. The dual character of Jamaat-e-Islami was also clear in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. Jamaat has long opposed elections in Jammu and Kashmir and has promoted communalism there.

Vijayan said that Jamaat-e-Islami in Wayanad may say that it and the Jamaat-e-Islami of Jammu and Kashmir are different. But the ideologies of both of them are the same. He asked, if these people (Congress) talk about secularism, then why are they taking the support of Jamaat? Shouldn’t the people of Congress oppose all forms of communalism? Isn’t Congress doing this for its own selfish interests? Can Congress reject the votes of Jamaat-e-Islami?

What retort did Priyanka Gandhi give?
Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi has retorted to Pinarayi Vijayan’s comment and said, attention should not be diverted from the issues. Elections should be fought on real issues. Priyanka suggested that leaders should talk about development during the elections.

Priyanka asked Vijayan, what have you done for Wayanad? You should talk about it. Elections should be fought on issues that affect the people, like inflation, development, unemployment. We should not divert the attention of the people. Priyanka Gandhi said that BJP leaders have become ‘disconnected’ from the people.

What is Jamaat-e-Islami?
Jamaat-e-Islami’s ideology prioritises Islamic law and Sharia, which some consider radical. Critics say it can promote religious divisions and radicalism in society, especially when it advocates the implementation of Sharia principles. Jamaat-e-Islami sometimes has alliances with various political parties, Indian Union Muslim League and some other organisations. Due to this, it is considered a supporter of some parties and an opponent of other parties, which leads to political controversies. Jamaat-e-Islami is also accused of using religious sentiments for political gain.

Why is Congress surrounded by Jamaat?
Jamaat-e-Islami is accused of having foreign links and some people also accuse it of taking financial help from foreign organisations. Some organisations and communities believe that Jamaat-e-Islami only advocates Muslim interests and this increases the feeling of distrust between the majority and minority communities in the society. It has also had a controversial stand on communal issues many times. Its student organisations, especially the Campus Front of India (CFI), have often been in controversy for radical activities on campus. CFI has been accused of promoting religious polarisation and separatism.