Priyanka's call to arrest Pinarayi will be seen as bid to aid BJP

Politburo member terms Islamophobia accusations levelled against the CPM as a politically-motivated charge, terms BJP the "main threat to the idea of India"

- K S SREEJITH @T'Puram

TERMING Kerala as a haven for the Constitution, CPM leader Brinda Karat said that if Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra comes to Kerala and repeats the slogan that Pinarayi Vijayan should be arrested, it would be perceived as a move to help the BJP. In a conversation with TNIE, the politburo member, who is in the state capital to attend the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF), stressed that the CPM doesn't agree with the suggestion of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on naming its leader Mamata Banerjee coordinator of the opposition INDIA bloc.

Excerpts: Have left parties stagnated after the general election? Electorally, we have not improved our position. However, interventions by the CPM and other left parties on the most important issues facing people have been noteworthy. The major challenge before us today is to translate the public support into votes.

How do you view the growing concern among some partners that the Congress is not taking a proactive role in coordinating the activities of the INDIA bloc? The INDIA bloc exists. It's a necessary platform to fight the hegemony that the BJP wants to impose across the country. However, it is not a substitute to the role and ideologies of independent parties. As we saw in the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, electoral seat sharing policies will depend on the configuration of forces in particular states.