Thrissur: A fierce war of words has taken place between CPI (M) leader Baby John and Congress MLA Anil Akkara over the apartment complex being built at Vadakkanchery in the district under the ‘Life Mission’ project.
While the Left leader accused Anil of acting like the ‘son of the Satan’, the MLA, who represents Vadakkanchery in the Legislative Assembly, asked John to look in the mirror to learn who really was related to the Devil.
Incidentally, Minister A C Moideen also resides in the same constituency.
John, a member of the CPI (M) state secretariat, made the controversial remarks while inaugurating a sit-in staged by the party in protest against the alleged move by the local MLA to stop the construction of the apartments for poor people.
“Anil is trying to sabotage the project as he received no commission, even when the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh was given Rs one crore. This son of Satan has to face a social boycott. The MLA claims that he has proof of malpractices regarding the project. However, why is he refraining from filing a complaint with the Vigilance,” asked the CPI (M) leader.
Replying to the charges, Anil said that it was for the Chief Minister to reveal why a Vigilance probe has not been ordered into the deal even after a recommendation from the CPI (M) state secretariat.
Earlier, a row had broken out after neither the district committee nor the area committee of the CPI (M) came out in support of minister Moideen on the issue. Following which, John conducted an evidence collection at the area committee office in Vadakkanchery that lasted nearly three hours. But, John claimed that no inquiry was carried out but he had reached the party office to discuss the sit-in protest.
Meanwhile, Anil’s mother Lilly wrote an open letter to CPI (M) national general secretary Sitaram Yechury against the reference to the Devil in John’s speech. “The late Anthony Kutty, my husband and Anil’s father, was an old comrade. It is painful to hear somebody who died 16 years ago being called a Satan,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
‘Unitac selected by govt, Life Mission’
In a related development, Anil Akkara alleged that the firm Unitac was chosen to construct the houses in Vadakkanchery by the state government and Life Mission. “They later asked the Red Crescent to approve the company. However, if the Chief Minister’s claim that Red Crescent had selected Unitac is true, let the government or Life Mission produce the letter in this regard from Red Crescent,” he said.
“The Chief Minister says that the Red Crescent is in charge of the construction. However, in reality, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is the Chairman of Life Mission; Minister A C Moideen, the Vice-Chairman; the Chief Minister’s former private secretary M Sivasankar and Life Mission CEO U V Jose have the total responsibility for giving the work to Unitac,” said the Congress MLA.
It is evident from the files that Red Crescent has not written to the state government approving Unitac, said Anil. “The government should either produce the MoU between Red Crescent and Unitac or accept the fact that the firm was selected by it,” he added.
