Pinarayi Vijayan says PDP’s support is accepted to strengthen secularism.
KOCHI: The Left Democratic Front (LDF) decided to accept the support of the likes of People’s Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasir Maudany in the coming Lok Sabha elections after they proved their secular credentials and came out in the open against communalism and religious extremism, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
Launching web sites seeking support for the LDF here on Saturday, Mr. Vijayan said the support was accepted to strengthen secularism.
He said that individuals and organisations had come forward in large numbers in support of the LDF from the very outset of the poll campaign. The support of some people could not have been imagined in the past. He cited the support extended by the Janapaksham led by former Bharatiya Janata Party leader K. Raman Pillai as an example. Ever since he quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in protest against the policies of that party, Mr. Raman Pillai had stood for secularism and it was only natural that he supported the LDF which had the strongest secular credentials.
Mr. Vijayan said the LDF had opposed Mr. Maudany strongly in the past. However, Mr. Maudany made it clear that he was in favour of secularism following his release from jail. He came out in the open against religious extremism and communalism and rightly approached political parties that followed similar principles. “We look at their present positions and policies,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan said the LDF government had never followed a policy of protecting anyone who went against the law of the land. Allegations were being raised against Mr. Maudany as part of a ploy to crucify him for his political stand.
Mr. Vijayan regarded the inquiry conducted by the State Home Ministry into extremism as a model one unlike the ones carried out in other parts of the country where such inquires had led to widespread allegations of targeting the Muslim community.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/22/stories/2009032250430100.htm
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