‘Congress Had 5 Years, Why Were They Silent’: Vijayan Turns the Tables on Congress Leader

Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has come down heavily on senior Congress leader Mullapplly Ramachandran asking him to explain his inaction against Kerala DGP Loknath Behera if he knew of his involvement in giving clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

Vijayan asked why Mullapplly, a junior home minister in UPA 2 cabinet, did not inform P Chidambaram, the then home minister, if he knew about the files he claimed to have accessed.

“Why was he waiting for last two and a half years? Why didn't he take necessary action when he was in power?” asked Vijayan.

"Mullapplly had five years. Why were they silent for all these years? His sincerity is under a cloud of doubt. Why did he hide this information? His words can't be trusted," Vijayan told reporters, adding Lokanth Behera is one the most qualified officers.

"Anyone who knows me will never believe that I am a person who will act according to the whims and fancies of Modi. The LDF is not here to sign along Modi's dotted lines," the chief minister said.

On Saturday, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Mullappally Ramachandran had alleged that Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera was appointed to the position in return of giving clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

Mullappally, a former junior home minister during UPA rule, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered ‘his friend’ Pinarayi Vijayan to sign a file to appoint Behera as DGP a day after a meeting between the two in Delhi.

“During my five-year long tenure as minister for home affairs, I have had the opportunity to access many important case files in the country. We saw one of the biggest communal riots in the country, the Gujarat violence. We also saw the cases that ensued, including the Ishrat Jahan and several other cases, in which our prime minister and BJP chief Amit Shah were co-accused,” Mullappally said while addressing a rally conducted by Muslim Youth League in Vatakara here on Saturday.

“Loknath Behera, the present DGP was one of the main National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials during that time, who were investigating the case, whitewashed Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the report,” Ramachandran said.

BJP Kerala president PS Sreedharan Pillai also came out in opposition against Mullappally and alleged his statement is violation of the pledge he took as Member of Parliament.