Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition Congress in Kerala on Saturday charged that sending the state Chief secretary to study the dashboard system in BJP-ruled Gujarat by the CPI(M)-led LDF government was the continuation of a years-long “unholy” relationship between the Left and the saffron party in the southern state.
The state’s highest ranking officer’s visit to Gujarat was part of a conspiracy by the BJP and the CPI(M) in Kerala to give a national recognition to the saffron party’s rule ahead of the Assembly polls there later this year, it alleged.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, V D Satheesan told reporters in Thiruvalla that it was strange to see that the CPI(M) leaders, who were once proud about the ‘Kerala model’ development, is now lavishing praises on the ‘Gujarat model’.
The national media, in connection with the Kerala Chief Secretary’s visit, have reported that even the Communist government is praising the BJP rule in Gujarat, Satheesan added.
The wicked objective of the Marxist party was to defeat the Congress and bring the BJP back to power again in that state, he further allleged.
Meanwhhile, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the government machinery was used not to study the dashboard system of development but of the “communal divisive policies” of the Sangh Parivar.
The people of the state had seen several times before how the CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan joining hands with the Sangh Parivar and embracing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the sending of the Chief Secretary to Gujarat was just a continuation of that relationship, he claimed.
Alleging that Vijayan was one of the greatest beneficiaries of the CPI(M)-BJP relationship, he pointed out that the SNC Lavalin case, in which the Marxist veteran was an accused, has been pending before the Supreme Court since 2018 but postponed more than 20 times.
Even the CBI has changed its stand on the need for an urgent hearing in the case, Chennithala said.
He also charged that the investigation of central agencies in the gold smuggling case, in which the Chief Minister’s Office faced allegations, also came to a halt due to the connection between the two parties.
The LDF government recently sent a two-member high-level official team to Gujarat this week to study a system aiding good governance introduced by the BJP-ruled state, sparking a row in Kerala.
State Chief Secretary V P Joy and his staff officer visited the BJP-ruled state from April 27 to attend the presentation on the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Dashboard system for project implementation in the western state.
The Left government’s decision to send its top officials to Gujarat was criticised by the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League, however, the BJP welcomed the move.
—PTI

Press Trust of India