Kochi: A day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan contemptuously rejected the opposition's allegations of CPM-RSS links in the wake of the controversies surrounding ADGP M R Ajith Kumar, the Congress retorted, urging him to stop lecturing and answer specific questions.
In response to the CM accusing Congress leaders of leaning towards the RSS/BJP, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan on Wednesday said Vijayan was distorting history and giving a lecture instead of answering the severe allegations against the ADGP in charge of law and order as well as the CM's political secretary P Sasi.
In a statement to the media, Satheesan repeated the questions to the chief minister over the ADGP's meetings with RSS leaders Dattatreya Hosabale and Ram Madhav.
Satheesan's seven questions are:
1. Why did the ADGP meet the two RSS leaders within 10 days?
2. Why did he hold hours-long discussions with the RSS leaders?
3. Did not the ADGP meet RSS leaders as the CM's messenger?
4. Did not the CM sabotage the Thrissur Pooram festival using the same ADGP to help the BJP?
5. Why is the CM protecting the ADGP even after LDF allies, along with the opposition, demanding action against him?
6. Who were with the ADGP during his meeting with Ram Madhav in Kovalam?
7. Are the allegations raised by a CPM MLA against the CM and his office over the past 10 days true or false?
Satheesan said the people will disdain with contempt Vijayan's statement that the RSS was resisted only by the CPM and the Congress has no role in it.
"Pinarayi Vijayan became an MLA in 1977 with the support of RSS. Wasn't RSS leader K G Marar a joint candidate of CPM-RSS in Uduma then? Don't forget that the photograph of the same K G Marar giving away a badge to EMS is still available in public domain. Will Pinarayi Vijayan also deny senior BJP leader L K Advani participating in the election campaign of CPM candidate Sivadasa Menon in Palakkad? If you google, you can find pictures of CPM leaders EMS and Jyotibasu standing with Advani and Vajpayee, supporting V P Singh to overthrow the Congress in 1989," Satheesan asked.
Satheesan also cited former editor of Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, Balashankar's revelation that there was a CPM-BJP alliance in Kerala during the last assembly elections. “The CPM formed an alliance with the BJP in order to sabotage the investigation by the central agencies into allegations including gold smuggling. He said the Kodakara hawala case, in which BJP state president K Surendran was supposed to be an accused, was overturned in lieu of the central agencies avoiding investigations against the chief minister and others?
Satheesan also repeated the allegation that the ED investigation into Karuvannur cooperative bank scam and the SFIO probe against Vijayan's daughter Veena were frozen after the CM kept his promise by helping the BJP win Thrissur Lok Sabha seat.
Satheesan countered Vijayan's allegation about him attending a book launch organised by RSS-related Bharatiya Vichara Kendra by reminding him of CPM veteran V S Achuthanandan participating in a similar event.
"Former Chief Minister Achuthanandan also participated in the book launch by Bharatiya Vichara Kendra. Its images are still available. In 2013, Achuthanandan participated in the launch of the book 'Swami Vivekanandanum Prabuddha Keralavum' written by (late RSS ideologue) P Parameswaran, who was the director of Vichara Kendra. Parameswaran was also present at the function. The same book was released in many districts. As a part of it, I also participated in the function organised in Thrissur, on the invitation of M P Veerendrakumar. During my speech I said that the Hindutva promoted by the Sangh Parivar was different from what Vivekananda said about Hinduism," Satheesan said.
He also ridiculed the CM's claim that CPM comrade Kunhiraman sacrificed his life while resisting the Sangh Parivar during the Thalassery riots of 1971. Satheesan said late Congress MLA P T Thomas had already busted the fake story in the assembly and the speech is still part of assembly records. "Kunhiraman's name was not mentioned in the Justice Vithayathil report about the riot nor in the speech delivered by Vijayan in the assembly on February 22, 1972. While the truth is this, who is the CPM trying to fool still using the Thalassery riot," Satheesan asked.
"Congress is resisting the BJP and RSS in India. Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPM in Kerala are the ones who have constantly insulted Rahul Gandhi, who leads the fight against the BJP, to please the BJP," he said.