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BJP chief in Kerala accused of giving bribe to candidate to remain in NDA
Thiruvananthpuram: After a humiliating defeat in the assembly elections in which it lost its lone seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala has found itself embroiled in a controversy for its alleged links with a purported highway heist of more than ₹3 crore in Thrissur district in April
Thiruvananthpuram: After a humiliating defeat in the assembly elections in which it lost its lone seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala has found itself embroiled in a controversy for its alleged links with a purported highway heist of more than ₹3 crore in Thrissur district in April.
On Wednesday, a purported audio tape of party state president K Surendran surfaced, in which he is heard reportedly talking to tribal leader and candidate from Wayanad constituency C K Janu, promising her ₹10 lakh.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio clip.
While one of the office-bearers of Jana’s erstwhile party (Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha) has claimed that she had sought ₹10 crore from the saffron party to remain in the National Democratic Alliance and that the ₹10 lakh was an advance amount, both Janu and Surendran said the money was part of the poll campaign expenses.
“We are ready for any probe. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) is playing dirty politics to link the BJP with a money-snatching incident. Like CPI(M) leaders, we won’t get admitted to hospitals to avert questioning,” Surendran told reporters in Kozhikode on Thursday, adding that he was ready to appear before agencies for a probe.
Police have already questioned several district BJP leaders and expected to summon party state office-bearers in connection with the alleged heist which took place on April 3 in Kodakara on the Thrissur-Ernakulam highway.
A man named S Shamseer alleged that he was transporting ₹25 lakh cash when he was reportedly waylaid by a group of people and looted after being assaulted. Four days after the incident (April 7), he filed a police complaint in which he alleged that the money was meant for a property transaction.
Shamseer later named a local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, Dharmajan, who claimed that the money was collected from several people and was meant for election activities.
While the police noted several inconsistencies in Shamseer’s version of events, after making 20 arrests, it found that the recoveries were more than ₹25 lakh.
As per latest information, the amount involved was supposedly ₹3.5 crore and police have recovered ₹1.25 crore so far.
During the probe, Dharmajan reportedly told police that the money was meant to be handed over to BJP Alappuzha treasurer K G Kartha and that party state organising secretary M Ganeshan was aware of the transportation.
However, the case took a turn when one of the main accused P Deepak was found at the BJP district office in Thrissur after the incident, police said. BJP leaders, however, claimed that Deepak visited the office as part of an internal probe being carried out by the party.
The entire incident led the police to suspect the role of some party insiders who were aware of the transportation of cash in the heist.
When contacted, investigating officer deputy superintendent of police V K Raju refused to comment on the case, saying an investigation was underway.
CPI(M) acting secretary A Vijayaraghavan alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is hesitant to probe the case since it involved the BJP.
The central agency is already probing the Kerala gold smuggling case which was a huge point of contention between the state and Union governments in the run up to the elections.
“We have seen the ED taking up even minor cases in the state. But the central agency is keeping silent now. It exposes the central agency’s partisan attitude,” he said.
Meanwhile, an existing internal feud in the party over the elevation of Surendran as the Kerala unit president in February intensified after party OBC Morcha leader Rishi Palppu questioned the leaders over the source of money and heist. He was later expelled from the party.
Reports suggest that the party central leadership is also upset with the recent developments in the state unit.
