Assembly election campaign is going on in full swing in Kerala. With BJP's strong entry in the elections, the party has come at the center of the election campaign. The Congress leader alleged that CM Pinarayi Vijayan is targeting Rahul Gandhi to look good in the eyes of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, while the ruling alliance LDF targeted Rahul Gandhi and termed him as BJP's B team.
Congress leader VD Satheesan on Thursday alleged that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is targeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi to look good in the eyes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Satheesan was responding to the Chief Minister's allegation that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress were the "B-team" of the BJP.
"They are trying to blackmail him (the Chief Minister) to win seats here. To ensure the victory of BJP's Suresh Gopi from Thrissur in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he was blackmailed using the ED in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank case," Satheesan, leader of opposition in the Assembly, alleged.
He further claimed that CM Vijayan is bowing before BJP leaders and “will sign whatever paper they ask for.” He also said, “He misled his own cabinet by signing the PMShree scheme without informing the ministers.”
The Congress leader said the entire country knows that Rahul is fighting an uncompromising fight against what he termed the “fascist, dictatorial and communal” Narendra Modi government. He said, "I ask Vijayan whether the 55-hour interrogation of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi by ED was part of some deal? You may become good in their eyes and get acquitted in the cases, but such allegations should not be leveled against Rahul."
He also alleged that the investigation into the Sabarimala gold theft case is not progressing because the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is being pressurized by the Chief Minister's Office. He further said that all the people arrested in this case have been released on legal bail and they are allegedly tampering with the evidence. He says that we are most surprised that CPI(M) has not taken any action against its top leaders who were arrested in this case.
Earlier, state Chief Minister Vijayan hit out at Congress leader Rahul, saying despite being a national political figure, "he does not learn anything from experience" and accused him and his party of being the 'B-team' of the BJP. His comment came a day after Rahul Gandhi claimed that the alleged lack of action by central agencies in various corruption cases against CM Vijayan was evidence of "collusion" between the LDF and the BJP.
Responding to a question at Kothamangalam in Kollam, the Chief Minister said on the Congress leader's allegations, "Though he (Rahul) is a national leader, the truth is that he does not have the understanding that a regional leader has. He does not try to understand anything clearly. Also, he does not learn from experience." He further said, "These are not the qualities that befit a political leader. How can such an important person of the Congress degrade so much? All this shows that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in the country are the 'B-team' of the BJP."
The CM had further said that the stand that Rahul Gandhi is adopting is in accordance with this situation. Earlier on Wednesday, at an election program of Congress-led UDF, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had said that opposition leaders are being attacked across the country and cases are being registered against them for fighting against BJP. No progress being made in the corruption cases against Vijayan, this was a sign of nexus between LDF and BJP.
