CPI(M), BJP on the same page

Say fundamentalist groups are behind the campaign

Hostilities between the CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala may have triggered discussions at the national level but when it comes to the ongoing anti-GAIL pipeline agitation in north Kerala, the two parties appear to share the same views.

CPI(M) central committee member Elamaram Karim, who is also the State general secretary of the CITU, on Thursday alleged that Muslim fundamentalist groups were behind the anti-GAIL campaign aimed at disrupting peace in many regions. “Outfits such as the SDPI, Welfare Party of India, and the Solidarity Youth Movement have been propagating fake news about the GAIL pipeline project,” he told The Hindu . “They had ganged up to sabotage development projects, including the National Highway expansion and several KSEB projects,” he said.

Scare

BJP State general secretary M.T. Ramesh alleged that ‘extremists forces’ had fomented trouble with the support of the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League. “They have created a scare in the minds of the people that the GAIL pipeline project will destroy their livelihoods,” he said.

He also accused the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government of high-handedness in trying to execute the project without taking the local populace into confidence.