Kochi | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying despite being a national political figure, "he does not learn from experience" and accused him and his party of being the BJP's 'B-team'.
Vijayan's remarks come a day after Rahul claimed that the alleged lack of action by central agencies against Vijayan in various corruption cases against him was proof of the "collusion" between the LDF and the BJP.
Responding to queries from reporters, at a press conference at Kothamangalam here, about the Congress leader's accusation, the CM said, "Though he (Rahul) is a national leader, the fact is that he lacks the understanding that a regional leader has. He does not try to understand anything clearly. Also, he does not learn from experience.
"These are not traits that befit a political leader. How can there be so much decline in an important figure in the Congress? All this shows that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in India are the B-team of the BJP." The stand that Rahul is taking is in accordance with this position, the CM added.
Rahul, on Wednesday, had said at a Congress-led UDF election event that opposition leaders across the country were attacked and cases registered against them for fighting against the BJP.
However, the corruption cases against Vijayan were going nowhere and this was an indication of the collusion between the LDF and the BJP.
Hitting back at the Congress leader, Vijayan said that in Delhi, Rahul and the Congress had sought the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal in a liquor policy corruption case.
But, Kejriwal was later acquitted and it was a "blow to the face" of the BJP and the Congress, including Rahul, the CM said.
He also pointed out that the Congress, instead of joining forces with the AAP to defeat the BJP in Delhi, opposed Kejriwal's party, leading to the saffron party's victory there.
Similarly, in Haryana and Bihar, the Congress' inability to take forward an alliance against the BJP led to the saffron party's victory in assembly polls in those states as well, Vijayan claimed.
"All this shows that the Congress is helping the BJP win and is acting as its partner," he contended.
Vijayan further said that it was the Congress, which for decades has had an alliance with the BJP in Kerala to defeat the LDF.
He said that from the time of EMS Namboodiripad, the Congress has been allying with the RSS and then Jansangh party and now the BJP, to gain power in the southern state.
"Both the Congress and the BJP have the same mindset," he claimed.
Therefore, the Congress leader's allegation of an alliance between the CPI(M) and BJP was just "an anticipatory bail" in view of their impending defeat in the upcoming assembly elections, the CM said.
Rahul and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, at the UDF election event, had claimed that there was a "secret deal" between the CPI(M) and the BJP.