Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Tuesday wrote an open letter to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, raising a string of allegations and questions over the LDF government's functioning, on the day public campaigning is to end ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls.
In the letter, Venugopal said that as Kerala stands at the threshold of another election, several questions remain in the minds of the people regarding Vijayan's 10-year tenure, and sought answers to what he described as the "most discussed" issues in the state.
Secret deals with BJP
He raised 10 questions to the Chief Minister, alleging "secret deals" with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Centre on several issues.
Among the key concerns flagged were CM Vijayan's meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi without officials present, as well as a breakfast meeting hosted for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Kerala House, with questions raised over the purpose and agenda of these interactions.
The letter also referred to the gold smuggling and dollar smuggling cases involving a former principal secretary to the Chief Minister, alleging that central agencies had halted the probe midway. It further sought an update on the Justice V K Mohanan Commission set up by the state government to investigate the matter.
What are the 10 questions Congress posed to Kerala CM?
- What was the agenda behind your meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in Delhi, excluding officials? Was that where the "deal" was struck?
- Similarly, in Kerala House in Delhi, why did you host a breakfast meeting for Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman without officials? What "deal" was being finalised?
- You have had several official meetings with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi. But have you met him outside Delhi? What was the purpose? Was it part of a deal?
- Despite open opposition from CPI and its ministers, why did you go ahead and reach an understanding with the BJP to implement the PM SHRI scheme in Kerala? What "deal" was behind this? Whose interests were you protecting by insisting on implementing it while keeping your own coalition partners in the dark? Why was the CPI state leadership misled after reaching a secret understanding with the BJP?
- On the issue of labour codes introduced by the central government, why were rules framed and actions taken in extreme secrecy without taking LDF allies into confidence? Whom were you afraid of? As a leader of the labour movement, did you not increase the registration fee of trade unions from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 following the labour code? Whom was this meant to satisfy?
- In the SNC-Lavalin case, in which you are an accused, the repeated adjournments over 40 times in the Supreme Court have surprised the legal history of the country. Is this a reward from the central government or a bonus of a "deal"? By sacrificing your party’s ideology and showing extreme subservience to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are you trying to protect your family interests by getting cases dropped? Is that why you hesitate to directly criticise PM Modi?
- In the monthly payment (karimanal) case involving Exalogic Solutions, are the terms of the "deal" you made with the central government to stall the Serious Fraud Investigation Office probe something you can disclose? Is there any connection with the Kodakara hawala money case, where crores were allegedly brought for the BJP during the last Assembly election? What is the current status of the ED notice against your son?
- On whose instructions are you still protecting ADGP M.R. Ajith Kumar, who faced serious allegations of secretly meeting RSS leaders and later facilitating the disruption of Thrissur Pooram to help the BJP win the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat? Whose interests are being protected?
- What was the understanding reached between you and BJP leaders at a star hotel in the capital, mediated by Sri M? Do you have the courage to disclose its details to the public?
- In the gold smuggling and dollar smuggling cases involving your former Principal Secretary, why did central investigations stall midway? Who intervened? What is the current status of the Justice VK Mohanan Commission appointed by your government against central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and Customs? Was the commission merely a smokescreen after striking a deal with the BJP?"
Stating that he was awaiting a response, Venugopal expressed hope that the chief minister would address the questions raised.
There was no immediate response from the Chief Minister's Office or the CPI(M) to the allegations.
Also Read: 'Kerala assembly polls not to change govt, but to improve state's future': Amit Shah
