Thiruvananthapuram, March 26 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan posted an old photograph of V D Satheesan at an RSS event on Thursday, intensifying his attack on the Congress leader over claims of a CPI(M)–BJP "deal" ahead of the April 9 polls.
Posting the photograph on his Facebook page, Vijayan said the people of secular Kerala have the right to know Satheesan's response regarding his participation in the 2006 Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar centenary celebration in his Paravur constituency.
M S Golwalkar was the second Sarsanghchalak (chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and played a key role in shaping the organisation's vision and structure.
"In 2006, at the Golwalkar birth centenary celebration organised by the RSS in Paravur, the Leader of the Opposition, V D Satheesan, should clarify what "deal" led him to attend as the inaugurator, bow before Golwalkar's photograph, and light the ceremonial lamp," Vijayan said.
He alleged that Satheesan, who represents Paravur in the State Assembly, has consistently evaded questions about the event by referring instead to another programme held in 2013.
The veteran Marxist leader said Golwalkar, the longest-serving Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, was honoured by Satheesan in this manner at a significant time.
The event took place in February 2006 at Manakkappadi School in Paravur, just ahead of the Assembly elections, he said.
Vijayan further claimed that in 2022, the state president of the Hindu Aikya Vedi, a Sangh outfit, revealed that Satheesan had sought RSS support during the 2001 and 2006 Assembly elections.
"The Leader of the Opposition has not yet provided a clear response on this matter either," he said, adding that it is therefore difficult to blame those who suspect that the Golwalkar homage in 2006 was an attempt to secure RSS support.
"At the very least, the Leader of the Opposition should now clarify what the 'deal' in Paravur in 2006 was," Vijayan said.
His statement comes as the Congress steps up its "BJP–CPI(M) deal" allegation, with campaigning for the Assembly polls nearing its peak in the state, which has nearly 50 per cent minority voters.
In a barrage of attacks on the CPI(M), Satheesan has said there was an understanding between the Left party and the BJP in certain constituencies to defeat the Congress-led UDF.
He alleged that such understandings exist in two constituencies in Pathanamthitta district, as well as in Palakkad, Kasaragod and Manjeshwar, where there is an agreement to ensure each other's victory.