THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rejected the statement by Janata Dal (S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, that Pinarayi had given full concurrence to move forward with the JD(S)- BJP alliance in Karnataka. Unleashing a scathing attack on Gowda, Pinarayi termed the statement 'factually wrong' and 'utter nonsense' that was made to justify his own political overtures.
The issue came up at the CPM secretariat meeting on Friday, where Pinarayi explained that he had not given concurrence, as claimed by Gowda. He told the party leadership that he has neither met nor spoken with Gowda recently. Later in a strongly worded statement, Pinarayi said that Gowda ought to correct his absurd statement, as part of proprietary and political decency.
"Janata Dal (S) has been part of the LDF for long. When the party's national leadership took a different stance, the state party chose to sever ties with the national leadership and stand by the Left. At no stage, has the CPM ever tried to interfere in the internal matters of that party, or come up with various opinions. As Chief Minister, there never arose a situation where I had to intervene in their internal affairs. That's just not our way of functioning. We cannot be held responsible for such blabberings by all and sundry. Ideally Deve Gowda should correct this absurd statement. The Kerala JDS has taken a stance that it is opposed to the BJP, and hence won't stand with the national leadership. Both JDS state president Mathew T Thomas and party minister K Krishnankutty have categorically rejected Gowda's statement," said Pinarayi.
The senior CPM leader pointed out that it's not for the first time that Gowda has joined hands with the BJP. "All of us remember JDS aligning with the BJP in 2006. Gowda is someone who joined hands with the BJP, defeating his own party's ideology, just to ensure chief ministership for his son. The Janata Dal in Kerala consists of those who, led by national leader Surendra Mohan, left the party in protest against Gowda's opportunistic political stance," Pinarayi added.
The chief minister further urged the Congress to not pursue Gowda's statement, so as to avoid being ridiculed. The Congress, which is trying to make political mileage out of Gowda's statement, too has supported the BJP many a time. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress and BJP joined hands in Mandya to ensure victory of actor Sumalatha who's now with the BJP. "The Congress need not daydream over Gowda's statement," Pinarayi warned.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Gowda had justified his decision to align with the BJP. He said all state units of the party had given consent for the move. The JDS patriarch said the party minister in Kerala - K Krishnankutty - had understood the situation that prompted the party to move towards BJP alliance. He further added that the Kerala chief minister had given his full concurrence for the alliance.
On Friday JDS state chief Mathew T Thomas also rejected Deve Gowda's statement. The JDS national committee had adopted a resolution to oppose both the BJP and the Congress. Referring to Gowda's remark, he said," This is a statement that could lead to lot of misinterpretations in Kerala politics. It could either be a statement due to misunderstanding. Or due to his age-related issues. At no stage, the chief minister would give such a concurrence. Moreover, there's no need to seek his clearance."