In his first public interaction after the beginning of the campaign for the Aruvikkara Assembly by-election, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the collapse of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) will begin once the outcome of the by-poll comes.
Coming down heavily on the UDF and members of the Oommen Chandy Cabinet at a news conference here on Thursday, Mr. Vijayan said the people of Aruvikkara would use the by-election as an opportunity to punish the ‘underworld gang’ that at present rules the State.
Under UDF rule, there had been a torrential flow of corruption and some in the government had become so degenerate as to attract the sobriquet ‘sex racket.’ The UDF leaders were using power for two things, to indulge in massive corruption and to cover up their misdeeds.
Kerala’s was the only Chief Minister in the country who had been accused of having paid bribe to wriggle out of a corruption case and Kerala’s was the only Finance Minister who had been accused of having accepted bribe directly, the CPI(M) leader said.
Mr. Vijayan claimed that the first verdict in the solar scam was a vindication of the Opposition’s allegations. The court had pointed to the possibility of VIPs having played a role in the scam. He wanted to know why the Chief Minister and others were not initiating legal measures against Saritha S. Nair and her lawyer Feni Balakrishnan for their disclosure that the Chief Minister himself had paid them money.
The investigations ordered by the government were nothing but an attempt to create a smokescreen. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau director’s decision to seek legal advice from the Solicitor General indicated that he did not trust the State’s legal counsels to give a judicious advice in the matter, he said.
The CPI(M) leader accused the UDF of having struck a deal with the BJP in the State. The decision to award the Vizhinjam port project to the Adani group was part of this. Mr. Chandy’s silence about the BJP during his press conference was proof for this deal.
He had said that the LDF would end in third place, but had nothing to say about the BJP. The people’s verdict at Aruvikkara was clear. The attempt of Mr. Chandy and his supporters was to sabotage the verdict. Once the verdict comes, the UDF government would fall and that would lead to disintegration of the ruling alliance, Mr. Vijayan said.
