Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rubbished JD (S) patron HD Deve Gowda's claim that he had approved JD(S) having an alliance with the BJP in Karnataka, and termed it 'baseless and devoid of truth'. He has landed in a fresh controversy after Gowda issued the statement on Thursday. The news made headlines on Friday and Congress leaders including K Sudhakaran and V D Satheesan launched a scathing attack against the Chief Minister.

In a statement issued hours after the controversy, the Chief Minister today asked Gowda to correct his statement. In a strongly worded statement, Pinarayi Vijayan said the JD(S) state unit had made it clear that they were categorically against the association with the BJP and that they would stand strong with the Left Front in Kerala.

"This is not the first time Deve Gowda is joining hands with the BJP. We all remember 2006, when JD(S) joined the BJP. He left this ideology and associated with the BJP to get a ministerial post for his son," Vijayan said.

Vijayan also attacked the Congress which has alleged that there are links between the CPI(M) and the BJP, and asked the grand old party not to "make a fool out of themselves".

"I am absolutely astonished by H D Deve Gowda's recent statement! The mere notion that I would even entertain the idea of supporting a JDS-BJP alliance is nothing short of a delusional fantasy. It is utterly disgraceful for a seasoned politician like Deve Gowda to make such unfounded lies. CPM has been an unwavering and unyielding force in the battle against the Sangh Parivar. There is no room for ambiguity in our stance," he wrote on the social media platform 'X'.

Gowda, a former Prime Minister, had claimed that all the state units of his party, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, had given their consent for it to align with the BJP and that Vijayan had concurred with the move that would "save" the JD(S). He made the statement after ousting a party member who opposed the alliance.

(With PTI inputs)