Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor E.P. Jayarajan’s geniality often caused the latter to lose guard.
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Speaking to reporters in Kannur on April 26, Mr. Vijayan said he noted “nothing scandalous” in Mr. Jayarajan meeting BJP leader Prakash Javadekar or any other rival politician.
However, Mr. Vijayan said, it should not have been in the presence of a “dubious middleman whose sole concern was making money by hook or crook.”
Mr. Jayarajan had said earlier that Mr. Javadekar and T.G. Nandakumar, a self-styled power broker based in New Delhi, had dropped in without prior intimation at his son’s apartment in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mr. Jayarajan said he was partaking in his grandchild’s birthday party when the duo invited themselves over.
Mr. Vijayan said Mr. Jayarajan had displayed a lack of caution.
He said the LDF convenor’s “forthrightness and affability” often put the latter in a spot.
“Those who candidly rub shoulders with malefactors risk being judged by their association and optics. Such persons should ideally be kept at arm’s length,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan said he was well-versed in the ways of the “agent” and had kept his distance studiously.
However, Mr. Vijayan said he had run into Mr. Javadekar at some public venues.
“I asked Mr. Javadekar about the BJP’s campaign in Kerala and told him it would come to nought. Rival politicians are not born enemies, and civility is the norm in parliamentary politics”, he said.
He depicted Mr. Jayarajan as a victim of an election-eve plot to discredit the LDF and the CPI(M). “Lots of money and few mediapersons are involved. The party viewed the matter seriously”, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said Mr. Jayarajan was a committed communist with a storied history of political activism. “Communists are habituated to vicious attacks and are politically empowered to survive them”, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said a well-heeled group had been working against him for years. “They include journalists and other vested interests. Lots of money is involved in targeting and baiting me. Have I fallen by the wayside because of their machinations?” he asked.
Mr. Vijayan said the “anti-Kerala” stance of the Congress and the BJP would work against the parties in the Lok Sabha polls. He said the Congress was a pale imitation of the BJP in ideology and fiscal policy.
He said the election was about national issues, including preserving the country’s secular and federal spirit and not a referendum on the Kerala government.
