Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Bandaru Dattatreya has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy over the solar scam and urged him to face a judicial inquiry to bring out the truth in the case.
Mr. Dattatreya was inaugurating the State committee meeting of the BJP here on Monday.
He said the office of the Chief Minister and some of his staff members were allegedly involved in the solar scam. An inquiry with the Chief Minister in office would not bring out the truth. Mr. Chandy should resign before a judicial inquiry was ordered.
The BJP leader alleged that there was a nexus between the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had withdrawn the Secretariat siege seeking the resignation of Mr. Chandy.
“There is suspicion among the rank and file of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) itself on the sudden withdrawal of the agitation against the Chief Minister,” Mr. Dattatreya said.
Both the LDF and the UDF stood discredited on the solar scam issue, he said. This would help the BJP get the support of large sections of the people in the State to open its account in the Lok Sabha election by winning a couple of seats.
He said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would get good support from the people of Kerala, and his becoming the Prime Ministerial candidate would help the BJP win the Lok Sabha election.
He said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre was a disaster on all fronts. “It failed to control the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities. Its economic and political policies brought disaster on the country. So, people have become disillusioned with the Congress and are looking to the BJP as an alternative at the Centre,” he said.
He criticised the Union government for importing onion from Pakistan when the Pakistan army was killing Indian soldiers in the country’s border areas.
He said that if the BJP came to power at the Centre, its top priority would be to ensure the integrity and unity of the country. It would take a firm stand against both Pakistan and China, and would not allow them to enter Indian territory at any cost.
On the Ayodhya ‘parikrama’ issue, he said the BJP or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had no role in it. “But the party has not given up the agenda of constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya. If the party returns to power at the Centre, it will construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya,” he said.
The meeting was presided over by party State unit president V. Muraleedharan. Senior party leaders such as BJP national executive committee members O. Rajagopal and C.K. Padmanabhan and former State unit president P.K. Krishnadas attended.
