In the wake of mounting accusations against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by MLA PV Anwar, CPI(M) State Secretary MV Govindan has said that the party has cut all ties with him.
Anwar, a left-backed independent MLA from Nilambur had levelled serious allegations against the Chief Minister’s office and declared that he’s exiting the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
“We have severed all ties with him. He has been spreading false propaganda about the Chief Minister and the party, acting in tandem with the bourgeoisie media,” Govindan said.
Responding to a question whether the party has been reduced to Pinarayi Vijayan, Govindan said the allegations against him were always political. He stated that the party had defended him when Rahul Gandhi attacked the Kerala CM in an election speech. “We are making a political intervention to a political issue. Our party stood with him that time as well. There are no pending cases against Pinarayi. He is a senior leader and politburo member,” he added. Rahul Gandhi had asked why the BJP was not attacking Pinarayi Vijayan or being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, an agency of the Union government.
A major row erupted after Pinarayi Vijayan’s political secretary P Sasi and MR Ajit Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, was accused of having misused the police to intercept smuggled gold outside Karipur airport and appropriate part of the seized contraband. After airing the audio clip of a purported audio conversation between him and Sujith Das, a Superintendent of Police, who has now been suspended, Anwar had accused ADGP Ajit Kumar of having links with gold smuggling and tapping phones of ministers and legislators.
"Ajith Kumar is linked to a gold smuggling syndicate. A team based in Dubai, working as police informants, provides ticket numbers and even the passwords of passengers acting as gold carriers. The police seize the gold, but only report a small portion of what is actually confiscated," Anwar claimed. He also released a video of his conversations with two gold carriers, whose gold was seized by the police outside Karipur Airport. Both individuals claimed they had transported 900 grams of gold, but in the first case, the police reported only 540 grams to Customs, and in the second case, only around 320 grams.
He also alleged that Pinarayi's favouritism towards his son-in-law Muhammed Riyas undermined the party's principles. "Is one Riyas enough for the party?", Anwar asked.
Pinarayi Vijayan rejected the accusations and said that Anwar is behaving like a “mouthpiece” of anti-Left forces, to defame the CPI(M). The CPI(M) state secretariat in a statement on Friday, said that Anwar's actions seem motivated by a predetermined agenda and that through his repeated criticisms has aligned with right-wing forces, to tarnish Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's image.
Expressing that he personally felt “betrayed” by Pinarayi Vijayan, whom he considered as a “father-figure”, Anwar said that his trust in the veteran CPI(M) leader has been misplaced. The MLA also mentioned that he would approach the High Court to seek an investigation into the alleged criminal nexus involving ADGP Ajith Kumar and P Sasi.