Kerala elections: Venugopal writes to CM Vijayan, alleges ‘deal’ with BJP; questions ‘breakfast meeting’ with Sitharaman | India News
New Delhi: Congress leader KC Venugopal on Tuesday wrote an open letter to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi VijayanThe ’10 questions’ he alleges are collusions among the ruling left BJP.In his letter, Venugopal said the questions reflect the ground being widely discussed and asked Vijayan to respond.“Kerala is on the brink of elections again, there are many questions in people’s minds about the legacy of your ten-year rule,” Venugopal said.The main focus of the letter was Vijayan’s meeting with senior BJP leaders. Venugopal asked: “Apart from officials what was the agenda behind your meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in Delhi? Was the ‘agreement’ made there?”He raised similar questions about the breakfast meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the conversation with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at Kerala House, asking if these meetings were part of any “understanding” with the BJP.The Congress leader questioned the state government’s move to implement the Prime Minister’s scheme despite opposition from CPI leaders within the Left Democratic Front (LDF). “What was the ‘deal’ behind this? Whose interests were you protecting… keeping your own alliance partners in the dark?” he asked.Venugopal also alleged that decisions related to the labor code were taken “in utmost secrecy” without consulting allies and flagged the hike in trade union registration fees, asking whom the move was meant to “satisfy”.The letter also mentions ongoing and past cases. In the SNC-Lavalin case, Venugopal questioned the Supreme Court’s repeated adjournments, asking if they were tied to a “pact” with the Centre. He also referred to the Exalogic Solution case and the gold and dollar smuggling case, questioning why the investigations “stopped midway” and whether there was any interference.He further raised the issue of alleged links with senior police officer MR Ajith Kumar and RSS leaders and referred to an alleged meeting between Vijayan and BJP leaders at a hotel, asking if the Chief Minister would divulge the details.The letter comes amid a fierce contest between the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF for the 140-seat Kerala Assembly. The state is expected to go to polls in 2026.
