The gold smuggling scandal and the Life Mission 'commission' were the two charges that had severely unsettled the incumbent LDF government. It is noteworthy that, in both the cases, the opposition had not seriously accused any top ruling party leader, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, of direct involvement.

The gravest charge the opposition made against the Chief Minister was that he had protected his former secretary M Sivasankar.

Of course, the opposition did drop veiled hints that suggested that Sivasankar and Pinarayi had worked in tandem. But this was not stated in plain direct terms, not in the Assembly and not even during channel debates.

Even on the issue of transporting Quran bundles in a government vehicle, no one has directly accused higher education minister K T Jaleel of having acted as the facilitator for gold smugglers. All that the opposition did was to create an atmosphere of suspicion. They repeatedly raised procedural issues related to state protocol and the UAE Consulate so that an impression was created that Jaleel was in league with the smugglers.

But after the twin murders at Venjarammoodu, politics has become unapologetically personal.

Direct charge

Industries minister E P Jayarajan was the first to come out with a direct accusation.

He said the main accused in the twin murders had telephoned senior Congress leader and Attingal MP Adoor Prakash right after the crime.

Jayarajan also said that Prakash had gone to the police station earlier to save Congress workers who were involved in an attempt to murder Faisal, a DYFI worker. He said the very same Congress workers were now behind the murder of Mithilaj and Haque Muhammad.

Jayarajan said this to substantiate the CPM charge that the murders were planned and carried out with the knowledge of the top Congress leadership. The CPM has also maintained that the twin murders were the culmination of a vendetta that erupted with a stand-off during the final day of Lok Sabha campaign in the Attingal constituency.

Counter-charge

Adoor Prakash brushed aside the charges saying that it was up to Jayarajan to prove the allegations. “He is only next to the Chief Minister in the cabinet and he is also the minister closest to Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the home minister. So what is it that prevents them from finding out the truth?” Prakash asked.

This was not all. Prakash met Jayarajan's personal charge with another of his own.

Contrary to what the CPM said, the MP said it was an issue related to the son of the Vamanapuram MLA (CPM's D K Murali) that escalated into the twin murders. “The MLA's son was found in dubious circumstances on the day of the Vengamala temple festival in 2019. He was questioned by some locals but he was soon whisked away in a two wheeler. He then mobilised people and returned to hit back. The local police intervened and thrashed out a compromise. That was the beginning of this sordid episode,” Prakash said.

D K Murali termed this a “fake allegation”. He said his son was not involved and that he had arrived at the spot that Prakash mentioned only to help a friend. “He was not even part of the compromise talk in the police station,” Murali said. The Vamanapuram MLA also said that he would file a defamation suit against Prakash if he did not withdraw his statement.

Prakash said he would stick to his charges but was vague about whether he had helped the accused in the Faisal 'attempt to murder' charge. “Many people, not just Congressmen but also CPM people, call me. I listen to all of them and had intervened only if their grievances were genuine. I have never called the police to get anything illegal done,” Prakash said.

Blame game continues

And now, a day after the CPM and Congress traded personal charges, Muslim Youth League general secretary P K Firos has alleged that that CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's son Bineesh Kodyeri has close personal and business links with Mohammad Anoop, the drug dealer who was arrested in Bengaluru on August 28. Firos said Bineesh was a regular visitor to Royal Suites in Bengaluru, the serviced apartment where Anoop is said to have thrown drug parties. Firos also alleged that Bineesh had financed Anoop's hotel ventures.

Bineesh, on his part, did not feign ignorance and said he knew Anoop closely. “However, everyone close to Anoop, including me, was shocked to know that he had such a side. I had given him money for the hotel but as a loan,” Bineesh said.