Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan looking for ways to appease Modi and BJP, alleges Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of living in perpetual fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he was “looking for ways to appease the BJP.”

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of living in perpetual fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Mr. Vijayan was “looking for ways to appease the BJP.”

Addressing a press conference in Kochi on April 20 (Saturday), Mr. Satheesan said the Chief Minister’s criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi “in far worse manner than how the BJP did was part of this ploy.”

“The Chief Minister and the CPI (M) have declared Mr. Gandhi as their principal opponent,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister was exploring ways to avoid criticising Mr. Modi.

Mr. Satheesan accused the Chief Electoral Officer of “doing nothing” on repeated complaints lodged by the Congress and cited the alleged interference of a CPI(M) booth-level agent during a vote from home at Kalliassery in Kannur as testimony to “the fact that voting is not being held in a free and fair manner at the ground level.”

Mr. Satheesan said people were being booked for as much as forwarding a WhatsApp post allegedly defamatory of the LDF candidate (K.K. Shailaja) in Vadakara. However, none had so far seen the said post.

The Chief Minister has turned Kerala into a State where no criticism of Mr. Modi was brooked, he said citing how a Youth Congress activist was booked for sharing a post critical of Mr. Modi over the alleged corruption in electoral bond scheme.

Mr. Satheesan said that the alleged interference of the police disrupting the Thrissur Pooram was “part of a conspiracy” to create a political space for the BJP in Thrissur where the fight was between the UDF and the LDF.