‘Congress should give this advice to its own chief ministers’: Pinarayi Vijayan on being asked to quit as Kerala CM

Replying to a discussion in the Assembly, he asked: “Congress says that I should quit taking responsibility for the defeat of the LDF. What is the rationale behind seeking the resignation?”

Referring to the resignation of A K Antony as chief minister in the wake of the Congress party’s poor showing in Kerala in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, Vijayan said: “Antony had quit in 2004, not because Congress lost the seats, but due to organisational issues in that party. No one should point to that and ask for this government’s resignation… Why have Congress Chief Ministers in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana not resigned taking responsibility for the defeat of the party in the Lok Sabha elections (in their states)?” he asked.

Telling the Congress to not be “overjoyed at the win”, Vijayan said: “LDF will examine the reasons behind the defeat and make corrections. The BJP had created a situation in which a section of people worried whether they can continue to live in this country. These people wanted to see (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi go out of power at any cost. They were not against the LDF, they wanted to avoid a Modi regime… This is what happened now and in 2019. You (Congress) think it was a sentiment against the LDF, but we don’t see the verdict as against the government.”

The Chief Minister pointed out that Lok Sabha and Assembly elections have different voting patterns. “We should understand the discretion shown by voters. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, UDF (Congress-led United Democratic Front) had a massive win, but they suffered setbacks in the local body elections in 2020 and Assembly elections in 2021,” he said.