Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan (file)
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition has “neither closed nor opened the door” on P.V. Anvar who submitted his resignation as Nilambur MLA to Speaker A.N. Shamseer on Monday (January 13, 2025).
Speaking to reporters in Sultan Bathery in Wayanad district, Mr. Satheesan said the UDF would decide to accommodate Mr. Anvar “at an appropriate time.”
He dismissed Mr. Anvar’s “request-demand” that the UDF field Malappuram district president V.S. Joy in the “upcoming Assembly byelection in the Nilambur constituency.”
Mr. Satheesan said no person could dictate terms to the Congress. “Malappuram is Congress’ seat. The party will decide,” he said.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Anvar’s apology for accusing the former of corruption in the Kerala Assembly had underlined the role of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the “criminal clique which controlled the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in the heinous and unfounded vilification campaign” against him.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Anvar had validated the UDF’s accusation that the latter had raised the allegation in the Assembly at the instance of Mr. Vijayan’s political secretary P. Sasi. “Mr. Sasi dare not pull off such a political subterfuge without Mr. Vijayan’s concurrence”, he added.
Mr. Satheesan said he had requested the Speaker to retain Mr. Anvar’s charge in Assembly records so that “future generations will know how Mr. Vijayan and his clique would stoop to brazen lying to vilify political opponents”.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Anvar’s accusation was so “juvenile” that he was at a loss to “cry or laugh”.
He said the LDF charged that IT majors in Bengaluru and Hyderabad delivered ₹150 crore to him in a refrigerated van meant for carrying fish to derail the K-Rail project. “It seems incredulous the companies feared that K-Rail would transform Kerala into a global IT hub and render the cities insignificant,” he quipped.
Mr. Satheesan said that Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders, including Ministers, had used Mr. Anvar as a catspaw to bait Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Sasi when party conferences were taking place across Kerala.
“Mr. Anvar had stated that the CPI(M) leaders who goaded him to attack Mr. Vijayan and his office backtracked and went dark after the Chief Minister cracked the whip,” he said, adding that Mr. Anvar had exposed the “growing resentment in the CPI(M) against Mr. Vijayan and the coterie controlling the CMO.”
Mr. Satheesan said the grievance in the CPI(M)‘s rank and file would manifest in more aggressive forms soon. “There is something rotten in the State of Denmark”, Mr. Satheesan said quoting William Shakespeare.
Published – January 13, 2025 02:52 pm IST
