T’PURAM/THRISSUR : Stepping up its attack on the chief minister and his office in light of the allegations levelled by LDF MLA P V Anvar, the Opposition Congress on Monday demanded the resignation of Pinarayi Vijayan and a CBI probe into the legislator’s charges. The BJP too came down heavily on the state government and the CM.
Alleging that the CMO had turned a “den of criminals”, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said Anvar’s allegations had brought shame to the state. “However, the CM is not ashamed to cling to power. Only a CBI probe will bring out the truth, the investigation ordered by the LDF government won’t,” he said. Satheesan said the CMO had come under a cloud and Pinarayi had no right to continue in office. “A sitting MLA has raised a serious allegation that gold smuggling and snatching of the smuggled gold were going on under the aegis of ADGP M R Ajith Kumar with the connivance of Sasi,” he said.
Congress state president K Sudhakaran too demanded a CBI probe, and said the role of the CM and his office should also be investigated. “The accused are influential. Hence, the probe announced by the state government is unacceptable as it will give the accused a chance to escape. The charges levelled by the ruling party MLA extend to the CM,” Sudhakaran said.
Terming the allegation that the phones of ministers, MLAs and journalists were tapped as serious, Sudhakaran said, “On whose instructions did the ADGP tap the phones?”
CWC leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the CM and his cabinet are under the grip of the underworld.
Meanwhile, BJP state president K Surendran told reporters in Thrissur that Pinarayi did not deserve to continue in the post as his office had become a hub for anti-national activities. He also questioned the silence of the CM and CPM state secretary M V Govindan on the matter.
“The MLA alleged that a smuggling-murder-drug mafia network is active in the state with tacit support from the CMO. It is shocking to learn that an official in the rank of an ADGP has been backing gold smuggling and quotation gangs. It is definitely unheard of that an ADGP and the CM’s political secretary conspired in anti-national activities,” said Surendran.
Alleging that the CM was silent as the allegations were true, Surendran asked, “If they are not, why no action is being taken against the MLA?”
He also said that the ADGP violated the laws of the country by tapping phone calls of cabinet ministers and others, and sought a probe by national agencies.
Meanwhile, scores of UDF workers staged a protest in front of the Secretariat on Monday in connection with Anvar’s allegations, against the police’s failure in arresting those behind the Kafir post and against the government for keeping the Hema Committee report under wraps for years. Protests were held at Congress booth-level committees across the state demanding the CM’s resignation.