THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forced onto the back foot following the Kodakara black money row and allegations of bribing a namesake candidate, the BJP state leadership has decided to hit back at the ruling LDF. Sources have indicated that the saffron party will urge the Union government to institute a probe into the Wayanad timber loot incident, that has put the LDF government in the dock, and also seek an expeditious investigation into the gold smuggling case.
Amid speculation that BJP state president K Surendran was summoned by the national leadership to Delhi in the wake of the recent controversies involving the party, sources close to the leader said he had gone to seek the Centre’s intervention in cornering the LDF government.
Surendran has reportedly sought an audience with Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar. It is learnt that Surendran would urge the Centre to intervene in the large-scale felling of protected trees from Wayanad as forests figure in the concurrent list. Sources also indicate that the BJP leader would also demand that the ongoing investigation into the gold smuggling case be hastened.
“The state government is foisting false cases one after the other to intimidate and tarnish the party. We are not for any sort of tit-for-tat. But we will not waste any opportunity to expose the corrupt deals of the LDF government through whatever legal means possible,” said a senior leader identified with the official faction.
‘Oppressive’ govt: BJP complains to guv
Rival factions in the party insisted that Surendran was indeed summoned to Delhi following the recent controversies that have badly tarnished the party's image. They claimed that the national leadership has sought their views on the latest developments. "We have conveyed that the present crisis in the party is the creation of the state president.
Though we will abide by the central leadership's directive to defend the party, no attempt will be made to whitewash anyone," said a senior leader. A delegation of BJP leaders, led by former state presidents O Rajagopal and Kummanam Rajasekharan met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday to complain against "oppressive, anti-democratic and illegal actions" of LDF government. The BJP leaders alleged that a special investigation team has been specifically targeting BJP state chief K Surendran and making efforts to tarnish him and his family.
The petition also pointed out that the move to arrest a responsible political leader like Surendran in the Manjeshwar candidate bribery case was unwarranted and against the directives of the Supreme Court to avoid unnecessary arrests in criminal cases.
BJP LEADERS COMPLAIN TO GUV AGAINST ‘OPPRESSIVE’ GOVT
A BJP delegation, led by former state presidents O Rajagopal and Kummanam Rajasekharan, met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan here on Wednesday to complain against the “oppressive, anti-democratic and illegal actions” of the LDF government.