Communists used Cong's weakness to pollute top bodies: Venkaiah Naidu

Hyderabad, Sep 28: Rubbing Left and the Congress the wrong way, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu today said that the Communists took control of the higher academic bodies by taking "advantage" of Congress' weaknesses and "polluted" them with their Left ideology, but the NDA government has started a process to "cleanse" them.

Stating that the Congress and the Communists had an understanding in this, Naidu said the NDA government has started a process to "cleanse" these institutions from their influence.

Naidu was responding to a question over the criticism that the BJP-led government is appointing persons with RSS leanings in the leading institutions. Congress and the Communists had an understanding of convenience as per which the latter came to dominate higher education institutions and central bodies, he said.

"It is the criticism of Communists (that persons of RSS leanings are being appointed in educational institutions). Communists had control of these. They polluted the environment with Left ideology by taking advantage of Congress' weaknesses. When it is being cleansed to some extent, they are indulging in a disinformation campaign. It needs to be understood," he told reporters here.

"In many educational institutions, central institutions and universities, when Congress became weak in 1969 and sought the cooperation of Communists, they came to some sort of understating, like a quid pro quo, that we will give you political support and you give us this opportunity (to control these bodies).

"They are feeling bad now that they are losing their monopoly. (Under BJP Govt) opportunities are being provided to all, and persons with merit are appointed and those with nationalistic outlook are given opportunities," he said.

Ever since it came to power, both the Left and the Congress have been vociferous in their criticism that the NDA government had been packing leading academic and cultural bodies with people oriented to the RSS with the intention of infusing their ideology into their activities.

PTI