Thiruvananthapuram: With daggers drawn between traditional rivals in Kerala politics, the top leaders in both the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition parties now live under constant threats of getting entangled in cases amid charges flowing thick and fast.
Those caught in the political fight include Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan, State Congress president K.Sudhakaran and former Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.
It all began when Vijayan’s police registered cases based on complaints from former Congress workers close to Satheesan and Sudhakaran.
While the Left leaders were busy tearing into these leaders, a top former veteran journalist of the CPI(M)’s party organ- ‘Deshabhimani’, dropped a bombshell by claiming to havewitnessed Vijayan collecting and counting Rs two crore in cash at his office in Kochi when he was theparty secretary.
He also accused Vijayan of collecting Rs two million in cash at a hotel in the capital district.
No sooner did journalist G.Sakthidaran make these claims in a Facebook post , all the three Congress veterans presently being under the police radar challenged the chief minister to order a probe if he “had the guts”.
Without missing the opportunity, Congress Lok Sabha member Benny Behanan urged State Police chief Anil Kant to register a case against theCMbasedon the Facebook post.
This morning, Kant forwarded Behanan’scomplaintto his deputy and all eyes are on whethera case will be registered likeit happened in the case of the top Congress brass.
Meanwhile, the party organ on Wednesday dismissed the former journalist’s allegations asking what he has been doing for the past several years after he was dismissed from the party organ and the party.
As always, Chief Minister Vijayan is maintaining a stoic silence.Also, after returning from abroad, he had been a little under the weather and returned to the office only on Tuesday evening.
–IANS