Union Minister Anurag Thakur accuses Kerala govt of corruption, nepotism

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday launched a fresh salvo against the Left government in Kerala, alleging that it was indulging in corruption and nepotism. The BJP leader also accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of being hungry for power.

Addressing the media at the BJP district committee office here, Thakur said, “Despite all the charges against him (Vijayan) and his family, he is taking the peoples mandate for granted. The hunger for being in power and misusing it for personal gains raises a lot of questions. When the top level is not clean, the impact can be seen at the lower levels too.” He claimed that serious charges of corruption are surfacing one after another, and they are not levelled only against the members of the ruling party, but also against the person at the top. Referring to the sensational gold smuggling case, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting said, “the accused have levelled charges against him (Vijayan) and his family.”

Raking up the recent Brahmapuram waste treatment plant fire, Thakur said, the National Green Tribunals action against the Kochi Corporation raises a lot of questions on corruption and nepotism being practiced by those who rule the state. “Who got the tender (for waste treatment) and who is the beneficiary? Is he related to the political party in power? If yes, then what was the compulsion of giving it to him? What happened to the advance amount given? Did any work happen on the ground? Is the ruling party willing to give answers?..” Thakur asked. The NGT has ordered the Kochi civic body to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 100 crore for the Brahmapuram fire incident.

Pointing to the attack on a media house in Kerala recently he said, “Is that the freedom of the press? People who talk about democracy today had invoked article 356 in Kerala for the first time in 1959 to overthrow a non-Congress government here. 93 times they did it in the past. Left might have forgotten this but not the country.” Targetting senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his democracy remarks in London, Thakur said Gandhi was absent in the Lok Sabha.

“He (Rahul) is not in Wayanad, or Delhi but on foreign soil, spreading lies against the country, making false allegations. You can hate an individual but not India. He should not have spoken against India, against the Parliament. He is a Member of Parliament. Unfortunately he did so. He should come back and apologise,” Thakur said. Later, the BJP leader also interacted with party workers here at the office.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)