'Pinarayi Vijayan Copying Modi's Autocratic Tactics': Congress Slams Brief Arrest Of Its Kerala Chief

The Congress attack on CPI-M came on a day that leaders of "like-minded" Opposition parties met in Patna to decide on a common electoral strategy against the BJP in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran arrives at crime branch office for questioning in connection with a cheating case involving antiquities dealer Monson Mavunkal in Kochi on Friday.

Source : PTI

The united Opposition platform seems to have met another roadblock — this time in the South. After locking horns with the Aam Aadmi Party over the Delhi services ordinance earlier on Friday, the Congress has now targeted the CPI(M) in Kerala over the arrest of its state unit president. The Kerala Police Crime Branch on Friday arrested president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) K Sudhakaran in connection with an alleged fraud case involving a fake antique dealer named Monson Mavunkal. However, Sudhakaran was not taken into custody, as he had already obtained anticipatory bail prior to the arrest.

Speaking to the media after securing bail, Sudhakaran stated, "I will address this case through legal means. I have nothing to hide. I have already provided my explanation to the police, and there is no need for me to make any further statements to the media. Everyone is aware of Monson's illicit activities, and he has already faced consequences."

The Kerala Congress slammed Sudhakaran's arrest, denouncing it as an attempt to intimidate Opposition leaders in the state by misusing law enforcement agencies. Calling the police action a "blatant misuse of power" to target opposition leaders, Congress said that it cannot be intimidated. "The desperate act of arresting the president of KPCC, Shri K. Sudhakaran, by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's police is condemnable. @CPIMKerala and @pinarayivijayan should remember that we will continue to ask tough questions and hold their corrupt government accountable on a daily basis," read a tweet by the Kerala Congress.

The party said that Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had been exposed by the move. Congress alleged that the Left Front government led by Vijayan was copying the "autocratic and undemocratic tactics and single-window corruption" tactics of the BJP, led By PM Narendra Modi, "He [Vijayan] and his party have proved that they are not a worthy ally for anyone in the fight against the fascist rule in the country," the Congress said.

This came on a day that leaders of "like-minded" Opposition parties met in Patna to decide on a common electoral strategy against the BJP in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Furthermore, the Congress asserted, "Sudhakaran and the party he leads with conviction will only get stronger and come down heavily on you without wasting a moment. Wait for the setbacks that await you in peoples' court."