The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pivoted to target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on charges of illegally amassing wealth based on two unrelated and arguably questionable accusations that emerged in the public domain on Tuesday.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K.Sudhakaran seized on a Facebook post authored by a former Deshabhimani editorial employee to attack Mr. Vijayan.
The author, ostensibly reacting to “CPI(M) orchestrated cyberattacks” against him and his family, alleged that he had helped a party leader count ₹2.5 crore from unknown sources in early 2000 at the Deshabhimani’’s office in Kochi.
The author claimed he witnessed a CPI(M) leader and current cabinet minister carting the money tucked in a hand-woven sleeping mat in a car bound for Thiruvananthapuram. He also alleged that the “leader” pocketed ₹20 lakh out of the ₹40 lakh a businessperson contributed to the CPI(M).
In his FB post, the author warned that more skeletons would tumble out of the party’s closet if the “CPI(M) persisted in cyberbullying” him and his family. His accusations earned brickbats and bouquets in almost equal measure on social media.
At a press conference in New Delhi, Mr. Satheesan alleged that the top leader hinted at by the author, who sat at the editorial apex of the Deshabhimani for a significant time in the 1990-2003 period, was Mr. Vijayan.
Mr. Satheesan did not furnish any proof to bolster his allegation. However, he dared the government to order an inquiry into the accusation.
Mr. Satheesan also flagged a “debatable” online news report that Mr. Vijayan had helped a businessperson allegedly close to him pull off real estate deals running into crores of rupees. “If the accusation is false, Mr. Vijayan should sue the journalist and the news outlet,” he said.
The accusations came as a propaganda shield for the Congress, given that Mr. Satheesan and Mr. Sudhakaran are targets of financial misdemeanour investigations launched by the State police, allegedly at the government’s behest.
(The CPI(M) had denied the accusation and said the probes were based on complaints filed by former Congress aides and party workers.)
BJP State president K. Surendran demanded the CPI(M) break its silence on the real estate deals “implicating” Mr. Vijayan, a top Congress politician in Karnataka, and a businessperson close to both the leaders.
Neither the CPI(M) nor the government responded to the charges. Law Minister P. Rajeeve, mobbed by reporters, refused to dwell on the controversy.
