The horse-trading allegations that cropped up against ruling LDF MLA Thomas K Thomas continued to create political ripples in Kerala on Saturday with opposition Congress targetting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for not ordering a probe into the charges despite having knowledge of it.
NCP leader and MLA Thomas, who represents Kuttanad constituency in the state Assembly, reiterated that charges against him were false and said he welcomed any investigation into the allegations.
His party colleague and Forest Minister A K Saseendran, however, said the NCP leadership would discuss the matter and take further action in this regard.
A controversy has erupted in Kerala over media reports claiming that Thomas, aligned with Sharad Pawar, offered Rs 50 crore each to two other Left legislators to join the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, an ally of the BJP.
Lapping up the opportunity, the opposition Congress accused CM Vijayan of doing nothing even after coming to know days ago that a ruling MLA had tried to woo two other LDF legislators into the Sangh Parivar-led front.
The grand-old party also wanted a case to be registered against the Chief Minister for "hiding" the information related to the bribery without passing it on to the police.
While addressing reporters in this district, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, alleged that Vijayan would do only things that satisfy the Sangh Parivar leadership.
Accusing the chief minister of ruling with the fear of the Sangh Parivar, Satheesan said Vijayan is worried about cases being probed by the Central agencies.
"That's why he has sent ADGP Ajith Kumar as a messenger to the RSS leaders...and ensured the victory of the BJP in Thrissur by disrupting Pooram...that's why he does not feel there is anything wrong in meeting BJP leader Prakash Javadekar," the LoP alleged.
After all this, he would speak about secularism outside, the Congress leader added.
Satheesan sought to know why Vijayan did nothing even after coming to know that the Kuttanad MLA had offered crores of rupees to two other legislators. Not even a probe has been ordered so far into the allegations, he said.
Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan wanted Thomas be interrogated inorder to bring out the truth.
It is not an issue affecting one political front or the other, but adversely impacting the entire people of the state, he added.
Earlier in the day, Minister Saseendran said that the party would take a coordinated decision about how to deal with the issue.
"Thomas K Thomas is our party's leader. Now, an allegation has come up against him. The matter will be discussed with the party leader and a coordinated decision will be taken about how to deal with the issue," Saseendran told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
A stand would be taken by the party in the matter without any differences, he said.
When such allegations are levelled, the party examined the rights and wrongs before taking a stand, the minister said.
When reporters sought his reaction, MLA Thomas said he would soon give a letter to the government demanding an investigation into the allegations.
"I welcome any kind of probe into the charges," Thomas told reporters in Alappuzha when pointed out that the Congress demanded a judicial investigation.
The reports claimed that Thomas K Thomas, an MLA of the NCP and an ally of the LDF, made the monetary offer to two Left MLAs Antony Raju (Janadhipathya Kerala Congress) and Kovoor Kunjumon (RSP-Leninist).
The reported allegations arose in the wake of Thomas's attempt to secure a Cabinet position in the Pinarayi Vijayan government by replacing his party colleague and Forest Minister Saseendran.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
