Senior Congress leader and External Affairs Minster Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday charged the CPI-M with attempting to create "political unrest in the country by joining hands with communal forces".
"CPI-M has a habit of creating political unrest in the country and they have done so in the past by joining hands with communal forces like BJP to topple Congress-led government at the Centre," Mukherjee said at a joint election rally with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in the southern outskirt of Behala on Sunday.
Mukherjee alleged that CPI-M did not hesitate to support BJP to unsuccessfully topple Congress-led UPA government and said history would never forgive Marxists for its "double standards".
"We have seen in the past that CPI-M cries hoarse about its anti-BJP stance, but the Marxists did not hesitate to join hands with the saffron party in its bid to topple UPA government. CPI-M is in the habit of doing so," Mukherjee said.
"In 1988, when Congress had reduced BJP to two members in Lok Sabha, CPI-M gave BJP political respectability by Jyoti Basu claiming with Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a meeting here that they were not untouchables. In the next general elections, they bounced back with 96 seats," he said.