A K Antony cautions against ignoring majority concerns

Kochi: Mr A.K. Antony has said it again. The Congress Working Committee member who started off the election campaign in Kerala saying the fight is between the UDF and the LDF in the assembly election has suggested that addressing the demands of the majority community was the way to ensure their support for the Congress if it were to capture electoral victory.

“You cannot stop the advance of communal forces by merely tom-toming about secularism and communal harmony,” Mr Antony told a Malayalam news channel on Monday. “One needs to ensure justice for all communities to stop communal forces. Shortcomings in the process, if any, should be addressed.”   

The senior congress leader’s comments are seen as an attempt to stop the majority community from ditching the party in the wake of reports of the BJP making inroads into its traditional vote base. It is also read as a critique of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy projecting the BJP as its main rival at least in a couple of constituencies. Mr Antony knows it too well that such an attempt would result in the party conceding its space among the Hindu communities to the saffron outfit.

Mr Antony who has never publicly shared the Chief Minister’s confidence about a second chance in government seeks to restore the party’s credentials among the majority community by reiterating his old stand that that there is a perception Kerala, especially among the majority community, that minorities have garnered more than their due.

He also gives credence to the contents of the letter, purported to have been sent by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala to the party high command after the party’s reversal in the civic body elections last year. The letter had also complained to the party leadership that the various castes among the Hindu community have started dissociating themselves with the party and were veering towards the BJP protesting the undue importance minorities get in the party and government.