THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Creating a history of sorts, the LDF dharna organised on Thursday in front of the Secretariat demanding the resignation of Finance Minister K M Mani and Excise Minister K Babu in the bar bribery cases witnessed strange bedfellows with Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan and Kerala Congress (B) chairman R Balakrishna Pillai sharing platform in the name of fighting corruption.
While VS inaugurated the dharna, Balakrishna Pillai stole the show by playing the role of crusader against corruption boosting the morale of the LDF.
As the curious mediapersons thronged the venue of the dharna led by LDF MLAs and other people’s representatives, all eyes were on VS and Balakrishna Pillai.
Inaugurating the dharna, VS said that Ministers Mani and Babu should come forward to prove their innocence by offering themselves for the lie detector test. He reiterated the demand that both the ministers should resign from the post. He said that finally the corrupt ministers would land in the Poojappura central jail.
Offering felicitations to the dharna, Balakrishna Pillai charged that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was protecting all the corrupt and criminal elements in the state.
“In all the mafia stories and scams, unfailingly Chandy plays a role. In the Nisham case involving the murder of a security guard, the victim’s cloths were burnt to destroy evidence. Police were not even ready to record the dying declaration of the victim. In the nurses recruitment controversy, the accused Uthuppu Varghese had Chandy as accomplice, he alleged.
“If Mani could get paradise, we all will definitely reach heaven,’’ he mocked Chandy referring to his claim that Karunya scheme alone would be enough for Mani to reach paradise. Both Pillai and K B Ganesh Kumar received a warm welcome from the LDF leaders. In the valedictory address, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy should remove Mani from the cabinet before the latter is questioned by the Vigilance wing of police.