KOCHI: Responding to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's allegations that Congress state president K Sudhakaran had plotted to kidnap his children, the latter on Saturday came down heavily on the CM and challenged him to prove them.
"If Pinarayi Vijayan proves the allegations leveled against me, I will end my political career. Pinarayi had referred to me as a corrupt person, murderer, and kidnapper. If so, why has he not registered a case and initiated steps to prosecute me? Pinarayi is attempting to divert public attention from the controversy of illegal tree-felling in the state," he said.
The verbal spat between the Kannur veterans commenced after Pinarayi leveled a series of allegations against the Congress state chief in a routine press meet on the Covid-19 situation in the state on Friday.
Sudhakaran said his remarks about kicking Pinarayi during a clash between student outfits at Brennan College, Thalassery, had been disclosed to the reporter of a vernacular weekly 'off the record'. "I was not interested in sharing this incident. However, when he asked about it, I recalled the past events on the condition that it would not be published. I have complained about this matter to the editor of the publication," he said. "With the levelling of these allegations against me, the real face of Pinarayi has been unearthed. In the press meet which was convened to provide information about the Covid-19 pandemic, he had gone off on a tangent with a script prepared by public relations agencies engaged by him," he added
In the interview published by the weekly, Sudhakaran, who had been the leader of the KSU at Brennan College, where Pinarayi also studied and worked for Kerala Student Federation, claimed that during a student clash at the college, he had kicked Pinarayi down.
He said allegations like a plot to kidnap Pinarayi’s children were absolutely false. "The Chief Minister shared the information on the plot to kidnap his children by reading out from a piece of paper. When journalists asked a question, he looked at the paper and read. He claimed that one of my friends disclosed the kidnap plot to him. The Chief Minister did not reveal his name. Why were no complaints lodged with the police in this regard then,” he asked.
By leveling such baseless allegations, Pinarayi was attempting to portray him as a goon, he said. "This is not appropriate for the dignity of the Chief Minister post. The Chief Minister said I was involved in foreign currency transactions. If so, then why has he not initiated a probe? The smuggling was carried out by the Chief Minister's Office. Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the sensational gold smuggling case, was the right hand of the CM," said Sudhakaran.
"Only one CPM worker, Nanu, was murdered by Congress activists after I took charge as president of Kannur DCC. If Pinarayi can name a second one, I am ready to quit the KPCC president post. But 28 Congress workers lost their lives in CPM attacks. Pinarayi himself said in public meetings that the party had decided to annihilate K Sudhakaran. Three of my cars were demolished in bomb attacks and I had a narrow escape several times. My name does not figure in any murder or attempt to murder case, while Pinarayi Vijayan has been accused in murder cases," he added.