Kerala Election 2021: Amit Shah attacked Pinarayi Vijayan over the gold smuggling case.
Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Wednesday targeted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the gold smuggling case, alleging that the CPI(M) leader had links with prime accused in the scam.
Addressing a poll rally in Kanjirappally Assembly constituency in Kottayam district, Mr Shah asked Mr Vijayan whether the prime accused of the gold scam worked in his office or not.
"I call upon Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Ji to answer this straight question - Did the prime accused of the gold scam work in your office or not?
"Did your government given this accused monthly remuneration of Rs 3 lakh?" Mr Shah asked as he kick started the second leg of election campaign in the southern state.
He sought to know whether Mr Vijayan's then principal secretary had made phone calls to help these accused or not.
Without naming prime accused in the case, Swapna Suresh and M Sivasankar, who were arrested by central agencies in connection with case, Shah asked, "Did this accused woman make foreign trips on state funds and the Principal Secretary's permission?"
"Why did this accused woman come to the CM's residence regularly? Did this accused woman make foreign trips on state funds and the Principal Secretary''s permission?" the BJP leader asked.
Attacking the Left government, Mr Shah alleged that it has converted the entire administration into their cadre.
"The left parties run Public Service Commission via remote controls to provide govt posts to their cadre", he said in an apparent reference to the protests organised by job aspirant youths in front of the secretariat recently against the government' alleged nepotism.
"Due to this, even after getting high ranks in PSC, a student committed suicide because of no jobs! Why? Only because he wasn't from your cadre?" he asked.
Noting that there have been two floods in Kerala, and over 500 people lost their lives, Mr Shah alleged that the Left govt calls our army very late, only for their own political mileage.
"They do not care about the lives of the people of Kerala," he claimed.
In his address, the Union Home Minister also highlighted the development works carried out by the BJP-led central government in the state to seek votes for the party candidates.
Referring to the recently inaugurated 2,000 MW HVDC initiative for Kerala, Mr Shah said, "All components being used in this project are indigenous - there cannot be a better example of self-reliant India."
"Another solar scheme of 50 MW capacity in Kasargod has been developed by the central government," he said. Under the AMRUT Yojana, cities are being upgraded at a cost of Rs 11,000 crore.
Prime Minister Modi has also provided Rs 65,000 crore for the development of highways in Kerala.