'What deal did you make with Amit Shah?': K.C. Venugopal's 'open letter' to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

With just two days remaining for the assembly polls, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal has written an open letter to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, questioning his meeting with the BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah and reiterating the 'BJP-LDF' deal in the elections. 

Venugopal tabled a ten-point challenge to the Chief Minister, asserting that these issues are at the forefront of public discourse across the state. The AICC General Secretary demanded an immediate response from the CM, framing the queries as a definitive test of the government's accountability ahead of Thursday's polls. 

The 10 questions asked by Venugopal:

1) What was the agenda behind your meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in Delhi, excluding officials? Was that where the "deal" was struck?

2) Why did you host a breakfast meeting for Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman without officials in Kerala House, Delhi? What "deal" was being finalised? 

3) You have had several official meetings with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi. But have you met him outside Delhi? What was the purpose? Was it part of a deal?

4) Despite open opposition from CPI and its ministers, why did you go ahead and reach an understanding with the BJP to implement the PM SHRI scheme in Kerala? What "deal" was behind this? Whose interests were you protecting by keeping your own coalition partners in the dark? Why was the CPI state leadership misled after reaching a secret understanding with the BJP?

5) On the issue of labour codes introduced by the central government, why were rules framed and actions taken in extreme secrecy without taking LDF allies into confidence? Whom were you afraid of? As a leader of the labour movement, did you not increase the registration fee of trade unions from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 following the labour code? Whom was this meant to satisfy?

6) In the SNC-Lavalin case, in which you are an accused, the repeated adjournments over 40 times in the Supreme Court have surprised the legal history of the country. Is this a reward from the central government or a bonus of a "deal"? By sacrificing your party’s ideology and showing extreme subservience to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are you trying to protect your family interests by getting cases dropped? Is that why you hesitate to directly criticise PM Modi?

7) In the monthly payment (karimanal) case involving Exalogic Solutions, are the terms of the "deal" you made with the central government to stall the Serious Fraud Investigation Office probe something you can disclose? Is there any connection with the Kodakara hawala money case, where crores were allegedly brought for the BJP during the last Assembly election? What is the current status of the ED notice against your son?

8) On whose instructions are you still protecting ADGP M.R. Ajith Kumar, who faced serious allegations of secretly meeting RSS leaders and later facilitating the disruption of Thrissur Pooram to help the BJP win the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat? Whose interests are being protected?

9) What was the understanding reached between you and BJP leaders at a star hotel in the capital? Do you have the courage to disclose its details to the public?

10) In the gold smuggling and dollar smuggling cases involving your former Principal Secretary, why did central investigations stall midway? Who intervened? What is the current status of the Justice V.K. Mohanan Commission appointed by your government against central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and Customs? Was the commission merely a smokescreen after striking a deal with the BJP?"

Venugopal's questioning comes at a time when the leader is facing allegation of 'money-for-ticket' by a Haryana native. Venugopal, who is contesting from Alappuzha constituency, filed a defamation case against the native alleging that the accusations were "baseless" and "fabricated" ahead of polls.