Ahead of Padayorukkam, literally meaning mobilisation of troops, the proposed yatra led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala, Congress leader V.D. Satheesan, MLA, fired the first salvo against the CPI(M) and the BJP saying both had forged an unholy nexus in the State with a view to rendering the Congress irrelevant.
“There’s an attempt on the part of the CPI(M) and the BJP to portray the latter as the main opposition in the State. The CPI(M) wants to weaken the Congress for short-term political gains, without realising that it is digging its own grave,” said Mr. Satheesan, vice president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
Citing the circular issued by the State Director of Public Instruction to celebrate the birth centenary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyay and the way the government “facilitated” BJP president Amit Shah’s padayatra as part of the BJP’s Jana Raksha Yatra, he said the CPI(M) was going all out to rescue the BJP from troubles.
Bribery scam
“The bribery scam had exposed the BJP and tarnished its reputation in the State, but then all of a sudden there was violence in Thiruvananthapuram and the Chief Minister held a closed door meeting with BJP leaders to neutralise the tension. We soon saw that the Vigilance drop the case, saying there was no evidence. Wasn’t that evidence of the secret pact between the two? While the party has always shown intolerance to all those who left its fold, Pinarayi Vijayan was quick to maintain that K.J. Alphons, who ditched the party to join the BJP, continued to be a friend.”
Mr. Satheesan also said that the Congress was ready to face any kind of probe in the solar scam.
On the problems it faced in finalising the list of member nominees to the KPCC, he said the dispute was just about some 25 names out of the total 282 members. To a question, he said an important leader like P.C. Vishnunath should naturally be a member of the apex body of the party in the State.
