Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda, who arrived here on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Kerala ahead of the state Assembly elections, slammed the ruling party of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has lost his credibility.
"Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been attacking constitutional bodies. In the gold scam, the involvement of the Chief Minister Office has embarrassed self-respecting Malayalis, not only in Kerala but the world over. Pinarayi Vijayan has lost his credibility," Nadda said while addressing a press conference here.
"An investigation which is going on is going to throw further light and it seems many ministers are going to come to light," he said.
The BJP chief blamed the "ineffective" policies of the state government behind surge in COVID-19 cases in Kerala.
"This is a very difficult time for Kerala's polity. I am sorry to say because of the ineffective policy, there is a whopping increase in Kerala's COVID cases. No strategy to battle with COVID was adopted. I am sorry to say because of this leadership, more than half of the active cases of COVID-19 are from Kerala till date despite an improvement in national figures," he said.
Nadda also attacked the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition UDF spearheaded by the Congress, saying they are two sides of the same coin.
"Both are corrupt, both the fronts have lost their credibility, there is no vision for Kerala and both are only power seekers," Nadda told a press conference here.
While the two fronts are fighting each other in Kerala, the left and the Congress are allies in West Bengal for the upcoming assembly polls.
"This is ideological bankruptcy. This shows they are power seekers and have nothing for the people.The involvement of M Sivasankar, former private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the gold smuggling case, shows that corruption has patronage of the highest office,"Nadda, who arrived in Kerala on a two-day visit, alleged.
The BJP president will also offer prayers at the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the evening today.
Kerala Assembly elections are scheduled to take place this year. However, the dates of the polls have not been announced yet.
(With inputs from agencies)
