Another front has been opened by the CPI(M)-led Kerala government against its state unit president. After which the central leadership of the Congress has come out in support of K. Sudhakaran. The Kerala PCC chief was arrested on Friday and later released on bail. This happened on the same day as the opposition meeting in Patna, where the Congress and the CPI(M) along with other parties resolved to form a united front against the BJP in 2024. Let us tell you that last week’s arrest was for Sudhakaran’s alleged involvement in a financial fraud case involving a self-styled antique dealer, Kerala Police has also dismissed an old charge of hoarding assets against him.

The Congress Party is not afraid of the politics of intimidation and vendetta

On Monday, Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan met senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, during which the case against Sudharan and his arrest were discussed. Soon after, Rahul tweeted a picture of himself along with Sudhakaran, Satheesan and AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar, saying the Congress party is not afraid of the politics of intimidation and vendetta.

The Congress party doesn’t fear the politics of intimidation and vendetta. pic.twitter.com/9HLetpJyma

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 26, 2023

Need for opposition unity reiterated

Meanwhile, coming out of a politburo meeting that reiterated the need for opposition unity, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told reporters that the case against Sudhakaran had nothing to do with politics. Yechury said, there is a police investigation going on, a police case is going on and unlike the BJP and the Union Home Ministry, we do not direct the police against whom and for whom to act. This is not our character. We never do this, and it cannot be done even in a state like Kerala.

Order for investigation of property on the basis of complaint

The new case against Sudhakaran is related to the probe by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). The Kannur MP said that the VACB had ordered a probe into his assets on the basis of a complaint by his former driver Prashant Babu. He told the media, he has asked for details about my wife’s accounts. VACB sources said they had received a complaint from Babu in 2021, alleging that Sudhakaran had raised Rs 32 crore to enable a charitable trust set up in memory of the late Congress veteran Karunakaran – of which he Was the chairman – to take over a school at Chirakkal, Kannur.

preliminary inquiry into the complaint

Sources said that a preliminary inquiry into the complaint has been done. Babu told the media in Kannur, money is his (Sudhakaran’s) weakness. He raised huge funds in connection with the acquisition of the school, which was not completed. In fact, the controversy over raising funds for the Karunakaran Trust first came to the fore in 2013, when the Congress was in power in Kerala. A section of Congress leaders in Kannur along with the CPI(M) demanded an inquiry against the trust, which wanted to set up an educational center besides taking over the school. It was alleged that money collected from the Middle East had gone missing. Babu had moved to the VACB in June 2021, soon after Sudhakaran became the KPCC chief.