With their continued dominance in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has decided to escalate its recriminatory campaign against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government with an eye on the local body polls in 2025 and beyond.
The Opposition showed no sign of resting on its laurels and has sharpened its attacks against the government.
For one, seemingly taking a page from the LDF’s playbook during the previous Oommen Chandy government, the UDF has zeroed in on its Lok Sabha campaign-era accusation that the government had dangled the prospect of diluting the State’s excise policy for huge back-handers from the liquor lobby.
In 2015, the LDF, then in Opposition, stirred up trouble in the Assembly to prevent the then Finance Minister, K.M. Mani, from presenting the Budget on the charge that he had accepted huge bribes from the liquor lobby to revive two-star bar licences cancelled by the Oommen Chandy government as a prelude to introducing prohibition in a phased manner in the State.
At a press conference here on Thursday, UDF convener M.M. Hassan indicated that the Opposition would keep the issue alive in the Assembly and outside.
He repeated the UDF’s accusation that the Tourism department had overstepped the Excise department’s jurisdiction and surreptitiously offered concessions to bar owners, including lifting the ban on the sale of liquor on the first of every month and extending bar timings when the Model Code of Conduct was in force in the State.
He stated that Opposition activists would march to the Assembly on June 12, demanding a judicial probe into the alleged move to help the liquor lobby rake in profits at the expense of the welfare of breadwinners and dependant families.
Mr. Hassan also said the UDF would flag the LDF’s communally divisive campaign against Congress legislator Shafi Parambil in the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency.
He accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of advantaging the BJP in the Thrissur constituency to save himself and his ilk from Central investigations. He said Mr. Vijayan had sacrificed CPI candidate V.S. Sunilkumar at the altar of personal expediency.
Mr. Hassan said the LDF represented Thrissur in all Assembly segments. However, LDF strongholds, except Guruvayur, fell to the BJP’s strong foray, and the depletion of left votes was intriguing. He alleged that the CPI(M) had resorted to tactical cross-voting to take advantage of the BJP at the Chief Minister’s instance.
Local leaders supported the BJP to save their skins from the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into the CPI(M)-controlled Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam.