At a time when Congress has not publicly declared its decision to participate in the Ram temple inauguration or not, CPM State Secretary MV Govindan on Friday said the dilly-dallying shows the national party's political bankruptcy.
Addressing the media here, Govindan said as the main opposition party, Congress has the responsibility to uphold the values of secularism. "They still do not understand that they cannot beat the hard-core Hindutva with their soft Hindutva. This has not dawned on them even after the defeat in the assembly elections in five states," he said.
According to Govindan, the people of Madhya Pradesh rejected the soft Hindutva of Congress. "In Gujarat when soft Hindutva was used to tackle the BJP's hard-core Hindutva agenda, we saw Congress losing even its core voters", he added.
"The opposition can form a secular front for the coming general elections only by assimilating all anti-BJP votes across India. But when the parties that should take the lead in such endeavours use soft Hindutva to oppose BJP, they are propounding the hardcore right-wing policies," Govindan said.
"Congress should take a bold stand against BJP agenda by upholding the traditions of the country and its secular values. This is the common belief among all parties who want to see the BJP defeated in the election," he added.
He said the BJP's decision to move away from India's history of supporting the Palestinian cause has its roots in the Congress' governments' decision to normalise diplomatic relationship with Israel.
CPM, which is a part of the grand opposition alliance called INDIA, has already declined the invitation from the central government to participate in the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.