erala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has indicated he would not buckle under the pressure of being called “arrogant” and would continue taking a tough stand against communal politics.
“We saw communal forces run amok in the state. They expected a docile government that would do their bidding. We opposed them and I took a strong stand in fulfilling the responsibilities vested in me (as chief minister). If this is arrogance, I will continue being so,” Vijayan told the Kerala Assembly on Wednesday.
The chief minister was replying to leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, who had called him “arrogant” for refusing to own moral responsibility for the Left Democratic Front’s debacle in the general election, where it won just one of Kerala’s 20 seats.
Vijayan dismissed the election setback as a “temporary reversal”, suggesting many Left supporters had voted for the Congress expecting it to defeat the BJP at the Centre.