Pinarayi Vijayan Slams Deve Gowda, Denies Supporting JDS-BJP Tie Up

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rejected the statement made by HD Deve Gowda, in which former Prime Minister claimed that Pinarayi Vijayan had endorsed his choice to collaborate with the BJP. Pinarayi Vijayan further voiced his discontent with Deve Gowda's assertions, terming his statement as "untrue" and "absurd".

This comes after Deve Gowda on Thursday asserted that all state units of the JD(S), including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, gave their consent to align with the BJP.

"In Kerala, the Janata Dal has been remaining with the Left Democratic Front for a long. The state leadership of Janata Dal has the legacy of remaining strongly with the LDF irrespective of the political flip-flops of its central leadership. However, CPI(M) has never tried to voice opinions on the internal issues of that party. As Chief Minister, neither have I intervened in their party affairs. It is totally against our mode of functioning. We are not responsible for their thoughtlessness," he stated.

He further said that Deve Gowda himself should correct his absurd statement, as it would be a matter of propriety and ethics.

"The Kerala unit of JDS has made it clear that they oppose the BJP and thus they are not with Deve Gowda. Their state president Mathew T Thomas and minister K Krishnankutty have categorically said that the statement made by Deve Gowda is untrue," he added.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that it is not the first time that Deve Gowda has aligned with the BJP and further accused Deve Gowda of "betraying" his party's ideology by aligning with the BJP to secure the chief minister's seat for his son, Kumaraswamy.

"We all may remember Janata Dal aligning with the BJP in 2006. Deva Gowda betrayed the ideology of his own party in order to ensure the Chief Minister's post for his son. Those in Janata Dal in Kerala are the ones who left the party along with the national leader Surendra Mohan in protest against the deceitful stance of Deva Gowda," he added.

The Congress which has now responded to Deva Gowda's allegations for political gains, have a history of helping the BJP in several ways and times, he said.

"In Kerala, they are sharing power with the BJP in local self-government institutions. No one has forgotten the story of Congress and BJP coming together for the victory of film actress Sumalatha in Mandya, Karnataka, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Sumalatha has now aligned with the BJP," Kerala Chief Minister stated.

Congress should not ridicule itself by reciting Deve Gowda's claim of an 'illicit affair', he added.

"There will be those in Congress who have had connections with the BJP and have benefited from it. They are the ones who have come out with the statements now, said the Chief Minister," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the former PM said, "In Kerala, we are part of the government and our MLA is a minister there. These units understood the situation that made us go with the BJP and supported our move. Our minister in the Left party's government (K Krishnankutty) in Kerala has given consent to us."

"Kerala's Left government's Chief Minsiter Vijayan has given full concurrence to move forward in Karnataka with the BJP to save the party. This is the position," Deve Gowda claimed.

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