BJP using central agencies to intervene in Kerala politics: CPI-M

After Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that the investigation by the central agencies into gold smuggling case is going in the right direction, CPI(M) on Saturday took a divergent stand, alleging that these agencies are being used to "intervene in Kerala politics".

CPI(M) that till now had not opposed probe by National Investigation Agency (NIA), Customs and Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the gold smuggling case, however, changed its stance, with its state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan asserting that his party will resist any move by BJP to intervene in Kerala politics using central agencies.

This comes after CBI took on the probe regarding kickbacks in Life Mission Project, on which the Kerala government had ordered a vigilance probe.

"The decision of the Centre to hand over the probe into the Life Mission Project to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is politically motivated and unusual. BJP had sabotaged governments in Congress-ruled states using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Congress had opposed CBI strongly," Balakrishnan said while addressing media after CPM's state secretariat meeting.

Substantiating his point, Balakrishnan further said, "Mamata Banerjee has ordered the CBI not to probe cases in Bengal. When Chandrababu Naidu became the Chief Minister, he denied the power to CBI to investigate in Andhra Pradesh. In Chhattisgarh, the Congress chief minister had taken a stand against CBI."

"In Rajasthan too, the Congress chief minister himself took a stand against the CBI. It was decided not to take up any case," he added.

Balakrishnan accused the Congress party of taking a contrary stand in Kerala in comparison to the one they have taken in the states where they are in power.

"That Congress is now demanding CBI probe in Kerala on the Life Mission Project. If the intention is to overthrow the Kerala government through this, the people of Kerala will be able to oppose the move legally and politically. There will be many more interventions. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) can survive that and move forward. A political campaign will be orgsed for it. The aim of BJP and Congress is to sabotage LDF," Kodiyeri said.

CBI has registered an FIR on Life Mission Project, a flagship project of the LDF government on the complaint of United Democratic Front (UDF) MLA l Akkare.

Balakrishnan further said that 19 UDF MLAs in the parliament have cheated farmers of the state.

"BJP is trying to pass bills in Lok Sabha taking advantage of COVID pandemic. BJP is challenging federal principles. The new law in the agriculture sector is encroaching the state's rights," he said.

"In Lok Sabha UDF MPs acted as the B team of BJP. There was no protest against the bill in Lok Sabha as what happened in Rajya Sabha. Why did Congress MPs not intervene into the issue like in Rajya Sabha?" he added.

( With inputs from ANI )