Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 11 -- Keralam BJP on Friday demanded the resignation of CPI(M) senior Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, citing the ED's latest move in the CMRL-linked alleged bribery case.
In a Facebook post, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Opposition's role was to hold the V D Satheesan-led UDF government accountable and not defend allegations of corruption against its own leader. "If the Opposition is led by a leader facing corruption allegations, what will be the subject of discussions in the Assembly? Will the daily discussions be reduced to justifying personal corruption," Chandrasekhar asked. Chandrasekhar, one of the three BJP MLAs in the Keralam Assembly, represents Nemom constituency in the House. He said the BJP/NDA was also part of the Opposition and alleged that the allegations against Vijayan were paralysing the functioning of the entire Opposition.
"Our main duty over the next four-five years is to point out the mistakes of Chief Minister V D Satheesan and his government, question them responsibly and force the Congress-League government to fulfil the promises made to the people of Keralam," he said. Chandrasekhar said Vijayan must quit the Leader of Opposition post to protect democratic institutions and fulfil his responsibility towards Keralam. His remarks came days after the ED wrote to the Keralam police chief seeking registration of an FIR against former CM Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, son-in-law P A Mohammed Riyas and others in connection with the CMRL-linked case. The ED sought registration of the FIR based on "evidence" recovered during its probe and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), sources said. The agency has alleged that Keralam-based mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct firm Exalogic Solutions under the guise of IT consultancy services.
The ED searched premises linked to Veena in June and subsequently questioned her. In August, the agency said handwritten notes seized during the searches contained details of certain fund transfers to Dubai. Riyas and the CPI(M) had said they would politically and legally deal with the ED case, including the searches conducted at their residences and the businesses of people linked to them. Vijayan had termed the ED case against his daughter a political vendetta.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.