Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The BJP on Sunday said it would step up its protests inside and outside the Kerala Assembly, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister VD Satheesan and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan over the alleged CMRL payments case. The Assembly session is set to begin on Monday.
Addressing a press conference, BJP state general secretary S Suresh said a recent Kerala High Court order directing the registration of a case against Vijayan and his family, based on an Enforcement Directorate report, had become a fresh political flashpoint ahead of the session.
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The High Court on Friday directed the state government to register a case based on an ED report submitted to the state police, alleging the involvement of Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and son-in-law PA Muhammad Riyas, an MLA, in payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited. The ED sought the registration of a case based on evidence gathered during its probe and searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency has alleged that CMRL made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena’s now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services.
Referring to the court order, Suresh said, “This order from the High Court is a simultaneous blow to the cheeks of both VD Satheesan and Pinarayi Vijayan.” He alleged that the order had taken away both leaders’ moral authority to continue in office. “Morally, neither of them is qualified to sit in that chair,” he said, accusing Satheesan of protecting Vijayan and alleging that the latter received monthly payments for his daughter from CMRL.
Suresh said the BJP would launch a strong protest campaign in the coming days, with its three MLAs leading the party’s intervention inside the Assembly. “We will wage a very strong battle inside the Assembly. At the same time, outside the Assembly, on the streets of Keralam, we will see major protests,” he said. He said the party had planned a march to the Assembly on Monday, October 12, with the slogan, “Illegal Chief Minister, resign!”
Explaining the line of protest, Suresh said, “If the SIR of the electoral roll is illegal, VD Satheesan is also illegal; that is our one-word slogan,” referring to the INDIA bloc’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. He also said the UDF government came to power after SIR was held in Keralam. According to him, the march will be addressed by BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and MLAs V Muraleedharan and VV Gopakumar.
Suresh also accused the previous Pinarayi Vijayan-led government and the current Satheesan-led government of targeting Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councillor R Sugadhan through the alleged misuse of the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. “R Sugadhan is a victim of state-sponsored terrorism jointly carried out in Keralam by VD Satheesan and Pinarayi Vijayan,” he alleged. He said the BJP would organise a protest on October 13 against the KAAPA case against Sugadhan and the forgery case registered against the Thiruvananthapuram Mayor, VV Rajesh.
The BJP will also hold protest meetings at district headquarters on October 14 and organise a youth march to the Assembly on October 16 against alleged corruption in Public Service Commission appointments to government service, Suresh said. He added that public meetings would be held across Keralam from October 15 to 31 against what he described as the state government’s misgovernance. Overall, the BJP said it plans to carry its campaign from the Assembly to the streets in the days ahead, centring it on the alleged CMRL payments case and other issues it has raised against the state government.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
