The Congress’s political calculus seemed calibrated to open Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office (CMO) to public criticism when crucial CPI(M) branch conferences were under way ahead of the party’s State conference in Kollam in 2025.
LDF Independent legislator P.V. Anvar’s bombshell accusations of criminality and corruption against Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M R Ajith Kumar, and criticism of Mr. Vijayan’s political secretary, P. Sasi, have come as a windfall for the Opposition.
The Congress’s anti-CMO campaign seemed focussed on attempting to prod LDF allies, chiefly the CPI, into reckoning the top officials as CPI(M)‘s liabilities, proverbial albatrosses the ruling front could do without.
The Congress also seemed keen to maintain the tempo of its agitations against the government up to the crucial local body polls in 2025, widely perceived as a forerunner of the State’s voting behaviour ahead of the Legislative Assembly polls in 2026.
Kept out of power in the State for two consecutive terms, the UDF sees a clear path to victory in 2025 and beyond, given its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls and the recent controversies dogging the police and the CMO.
The Congress also attempted to damage the CPI(M) ‘s pro-minority image by accusing Mr. Vijayan of despatching Mr. Kumar to negotiate with a top-level RSS apparatchik in 2023.
(Mr. Kumar’s post precluded him from responding publicly to the accusations. The officer has demanded a government inquiry into the charges to clear his name.)
Mr. Satheesan alleged the officer’s mission was to strike a detente with the RSS by promising tacit CPI(M) help in the Lok Sabha election as a quid pro quo for the Enforcement Directorate easing its anti-money laundering probe against the party-controlled Karuvannur Cooperative Bank.
Subsequently, Mr Satheesan noted that the police scuttled the Thrissur Pooram, stoking Hindu majoritarian sentiment that pushed the BJP to victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency. He challenged Mr. Vijayan to dispute the accusation.
Education Minister V. Sivankutty slammed the Congress and its “media backers” for singling out Mr. Vijayan and the latter’s office for the attack. He said the government had acted dignifiedly, ordering a probe into Mr. Anvar’s accusations.
The administration could not condemn anybody without proof of guilt, he said.
Published – September 05, 2024 08:59 pm IST
