Pinarayi looking for ways to appease Modi, BJP: Satheesan
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of living in perpetual fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Mr. Vijayan was “looking for ways to appease the BJP”.
Addressing a press conference in Kochi on Saturday, Mr. Satheesan said the Chief Minister’s criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi “in far worse manner than how the BJP did was part of this ploy”.
“The Chief Minister and the CPI(M) have declared Mr. Gandhi as their principal opponent,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister was exploring ways to avoid criticising Mr. Modi.
Complaints by Cong.
Mr. Satheesan accused the Chief Electoral O¢cer of “doing nothing” on repeated complaints lodged by the Congress.
He said people were being booked for as much as forwarding a WhatsApp post allegedly defamatory of the Left Democratic Front candidate (K.K. Shailaja) in Vadakara. However, none had so far seen the said post.
The Chief Minister had turned Kerala into a State where no criticism of Mr. Modi was brooked, he said, citing how a Youth Congress activist was booked for sharing a post critical of Mr. Modi over the alleged corruption in the electoral bond scheme.
‘Religious polarisation’
Mr. Satheesan said the alleged interference of the police, disrupting Thrissur Pooram, was “part of a conspiracy” to create a political space for the BJP in Thrissur where the ght was between the UDF and the LDF. “It is part of a ploy to shift votes to the BJP, which has kept many CPI (M) leaders terrorised of imminent arrest in the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam. Eorts are being made to communalise a secular festival. The Chief Minister has been indulging in religious polarisation along the lines of the BJP over the last 35 days,” he said.
He alleged a political drama in “delaying” probe of Central investigative agencies in the cases against the Chief Minister’s daughter in the CMRL payo case and the Karuvannur bank case.
Mr. Satheesan said the CPI(M) had “no moral right” to criticise the Congress in the electoral bond scheme as their submissions with the Election Commission proved that they had received donations from the same companies which had donated to the Congress and the BJP through electoral bonds.“We have received money through accounts under a system that was prevalent in the country, while the CPI(M) had accepted cash directly,” he alleged.