Under scanner, tough road ahead for Congress leaders Sudhakaran and Satheesan

Trouble seems to be mounting on Congress leaders in Kerala K Sudhakaran and VD Satheesan with the probe agencies tightening their noose around the two in separate cases. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and senior Lok Sabha member K Sudhakaran and five-time MLA VD Satheesan, the present Leader of Opposition are facing the heat after cases were registered against them.

Satheesan is under the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau scanner for allegedly collecting money from abroad soon after the 2018 floods to build homes for the poor in his constituency. Though the case had been cleared by the Kerala High Court, its sudden resurgence is being attributed to the Congress leader's open criticism of Vijayan after a handful of cases surfaced against him.

On Monday, the Crime Branch police registered a case against Sudhakaran in an alleged cheating case. The complaint against Sudhakaran was that a person called Anoop had paid Rs 25 lakh to the now-jailed fake antique dealer, Monson Mavunkal at his Kochi office in 2018.

When the money was being handed over, Sudhakaran was also present and Rs 10 lakh was taken by him after promising to get a favour done for him. The Crime Branch has named Sudhakaran as the second accused and asked him to appear before the probe team on Wednesday.

Both Satheesan and Sudhakaran have decided to take the fight into the enemy camp.

Sudhakaran who hails from Kannur, the home town of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Both the leaders are old foes dating back to the 70s when they were students at a college in their home district. At times both of them have been taking on with stories from their college days and indicating that the two have always shared a very cold relationship. Of late, Sudhakaran has been losing no chance to take on Vijayan.

A political analyst on condition of anonymity said, however strong these two Congress leaders are, they should remember that Vijayan is no Oommen Chandy or AK Antony, and has a history of acting against political enemies.

"Hence if both Satheesan and Sudhakaran don't tread carefully, they could end up in a spot of bother. And unlike the Congress, which is known for its factional feuds, the CPI(M) has an excellent support system which will fire on all cylinders and approach the public on the issues .

"When Chandy was caught in the solar scam, he had to fight his own battle and that's the trouble for Satheesan and Sudhakaran. Even though the two have the option of approaching the courts, only time will tell who will have the last laugh," said the analyst.