Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) has called upon the Congress and the UDF to be part of the human chain to be organised against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 26. This is the second time in a week the CPM is inviting the UDF to participate in a protest it had organised.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala's presence at the protest meeting, dubbed the 'Maha Satyagraha', on December 16 had caused deep divisions within the Congress. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullapally Ramchandran had objected to it viciously. Soon after the joint protest, he publicly stated that the Congress was not willing to take up any joint struggle with the CPM.

It was clear the KPCC chief wanted the political fight against the CAA to be led by the Congress, and not the Left parties. This is said to be in line with the high Command's thinking. The Congress had kept away when the Left had organised a national protest on December 17.

A top source in the Congress said Mullappally was especially peeved that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made Chennithala seem insignificant.

"At the back of the venue, there was a large face of Pinarayi Vijayan and below, like someone playing a not very important role, was a considerably smaller picture of Chennithala. The pictures were on the banner at the back of the protest venue and could be seen whenever the speakers were shown on television. The message was clear: the Congress played second fiddle to Pinarayi Vijayan," the Congress leader said.

Nonetheless, there also seemed to be a rare unity within the Congresss on the issue. Former Chief Minister and Congress's A faction leader Oommen Chandy, and Chennithala's biggest critic within the party, found nothing wrong in the joint protest "in the changed political circumstances".

One of the most independent voices in the Congress, V D Satheesan, too backed Chennithala. "I was also party to the decision. It only helped to send the message that Kerala was one when it came to opposing an issue that threatened the very secular fabric of our nation," Satheesan said. The Muslim League, too, was supportive of the joint initiative.

The CPM State Committee on Sunday has now given a more aggressive call for a joint struggle.

"There should be a realisation that the need of the hour is to be part of a wide public agitation with secularism at its core," an official CPM statement said after the State Committee held here on Sunday.

It lauded the joint strike on December 16. "It was with the intention of forging a united struggle that the CM and opposition leader came together on December 16. Such a gesture gave hope not just to Kerala but to the whole nation," the CPM statement said.

At the same time it was severely critical of the KPCC chief. "It is unfortunate that even in such a grave situation, a section of the Congress led by the KPCC president was projecting only a narrow anti-CPM approach," the CPM statement said.

Mullappally had earlier said it were the Politburo and the Central Committee members led by the Chief Minister who had scuttled the democratic and secular platform created before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

As if in retaliation, the CPM State Committee asked why Mullappally was averse to create a broad understanding with the Left on an issue related to the country's very survival when it had no reluctance to join hands with RSS on the Sabarimala issue.

"Given the gravity of the situation, the CPM wants all secular forces to get on a single platform. The country, too, needs such a unity," the statement said.

Congress sources, however, said the chances of the UDF taking part in the 'human chain' event on December 26 was remote.

"This struggle to get the CAA withdrawn is also a political battle. It can also define the future of political parties. No party can afford to be upstaged by another," said a top Congress leader, who did not mind Chennithala sharing stage with the Chief Minister on December 16.

"The earlier joint protest was fine because it was a statement of intent. It made it clear that we are all united against attempts to shake our country's foundations. Now, political parties need to keep their identities intact. Didn't the Left feel the need to keep its identity intact during the last Lok Sabha polls," the Congress leader asked.

A CPM State Committee member said the party was insisting on a joint struggle only to preempt fundamentalist forces from taking over the struggle. "We don not want any religious mobilisation and any protest using religious symbols. This will only feed into the designs of the Sangh Parivar," the leader said.

In fact, the CPM had strongly opposed the hartal call given on December 17 by organisations including extreme Muslim outfits like Welfare Party of India, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Solidarity Youth Movement, and Kerala Muslim Jama-ath Council.