As the Janajagrata Yatra wound up its tour of Kozhikode district on Thursday, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan avoided speaking about the row over his travelling by a vehicle belonging to an accused in a gold smuggling case during the course of the yatra in Koduvally the previous day. Instead, he attacked the Congress, the BJP, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Mr. Balakrishnan has been accused of using the vehicle of Faisal Karat, against whom the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has registered a case related to gold smuggling.
At a public meeting in the evening, the CPI(M) leader alleged that the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, were trying to divide the people on communal lines in the State and to gain political mileage out of it. He claimed that the Janaraksha Yatra undertaken by BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan was part of this strategy. However, he said, the yatra turned out to be a “political farce.”
“Amit Shah, national president of the BJP, had claimed that he would travel through the village of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and in front of his residence in Kannur. But he skipped the programme and returned to Delhi midway. Only he knows the reason.”
Mr. Balakrishnan said that when Mr. Shah returned to Kerala and spoke at the valedictory session of the yatra at the State capital, many among the audience were Tamil labourers. “Mr. Shah spoke in Hindi and V. Muraleedharan translated that into Malayalam. But many among the audience did not understand any thing as they were Tamil labourers.”
The CPI(M) leader alleged that the RSS was promoting Hindu extremism and some fundamentalist forces were promoting Muslim extremism. He claimed that his party would oppose both while upholding secular policies.
Mr. Balakrishnan trained his guns at the Congress too as he alleged that the proposed ‘Padayorukkam’ programme of Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala was aimed at former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. “The report of the judicial commission on the solar case is expected to be made public on November 9. Mr. Chennithala’s yatra and the contents of the report will deepen the factional feud in the Congress,” he added.
In two days, he spoke at areas such as Vadakara, Mukkom, Koduvally, Balussery, Perambra, Koyilandy and Mavoor. The yatra will enter Malappuram district on Friday.