KOCHI: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur, criticised the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing him of corruption. Thakur alleged that serious charges of corruption have been levelled against not only members of the ruling party but also against the Chief Minister himself and his family in connection with the gold smuggling case.
“Despite all the charges against him and his family, he is taking people’s mandate for granted. The hunger for being in power and misusing it for personal gains raises a lot of questions,” he said while addressing the media at the BJP district office here on Saturday.
He expressed his concerns about the Chief Minister’s hunger for power and misuse of it for personal gains, despite the corruption allegations against him and his family. He emphasized that when the top-level leadership is not clean, it has a trickle-down effect on the lower levels of governance.
Thakur also raised questions about the recent NGT order on Kochi Corporation and the heavy fines imposed on it.
“If you look at the Kochi corporation and Green tribunal’s judgement, then it raises a lot of questions. The fine is several crores. Who got the tender and who is the beneficiary? Is he related to the political party in power? If yes then what was the compulsion of giving it to him? Why was the advance amount given? Did any work happen on the ground?
Is the ruling party willing to give answers?” he said. Thakur opined that the ruling party and the opposition party in Kerala were the same in terms of corruption and that it was unclear who was more corrupt between the two.