THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After an 11-hour assembly session, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government defeated the no-confidence motion 87-40, but it was the Opposition which won the debate, cornering the ruling front by raising a slew of issues — from gold smuggling case and Life Mission project to the airport bid fiasco. The chief minister tried to take the fight to the Opposition camp with a nearly four-hour harangue listing his government’s achievements, dismissing the allegations and ridiculing the lack of harmony in the Congress and UDF.
However, all that seemed inadequate as Congress leader V D Satheesan, who had introduced the motion, raised fresh allegations that `9.25 crore was paid in commission for the controversial Life Mission project, and not `4.25 crore as said earlier. “A comrade who’s behind the BevQ app has links with this additional `5 crore paid,” said Satheesan. The Paravoor MLA added the details of the state government bid for Thiruvananthapuram airport were leaked to the Adani Group. Satheesan also alleged the gold smuggling ring had hijacked the CMO and made it their headquarters.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said later: “We could expose the corruption of the government while maintaining high standards of decorum and upholding the rules of business in the assembly.” Responding to the charges over gold smuggling, Pinarayi said the Opposition was trying to create a smokescreen and mislead the people.
Some deliberately indulge in fake campaigns: CM
“The investigation is being carried out by the central agencies. The NIA hasn’t accused the CMO of anything. Some people deliberately indulge in fake campaigns by covering up the facts. Of those who have been arrested is there anyone from the Left?” asked Pinarayi. He said Life Mission (housing project for the poor) would be completed despite all campaigns against it.
Chennithala also levelled a fresh allegation against the government over the leasing of government land to private people while M K Muneer alleged the government bought PPE Kits priced at `350 for `1,500. However, the assembly passed a joint resolution asking the Centre to rescind the decision to hand over the airport to the Ahmedabad-based group and give it to the state government’s SPV. The government won the no-confidence motion easily as expected. Curiously, the BJP’s lone member O Rajagopal, who had initially supported taking up the motion, later said he neither agrees nor disagrees with the same. The two MLAs from Kerala Congress (M) Jose K Mani faction, Roshy Augustine and N Jayaraj, stayed away, to the disappointment of the UDF leadership.
With the House witnessing a major uproar during his speech, the CM opted for a political response, attacking the Congress over its stance on Ayodhya issue and terming it the BJP’s B team.
“The Congress will face a situation where it won’t be accorded the status of the Opposition even in Kerala. The Congress has become a group of people waiting to join the BJP. Senior Congress leaders are terming each other as BJP agents,” said Pinarayi in an reference to the developments in New Delhi. He added consultancies are needed to implement big-ticket projects. He added that an anti-Communist platform was behind the no-trust motion. He said people have trust in the government. The fact that LDF increased its seats from 91 to 93 shows this, he said. “UDF has no trust in itself. Allies in the Opposition front have lost trust in the front.”