By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The sudden resignation of CPI-M legislator R. Selvaraj has sparked a war of words, with the party alleging he has been won over by Kerala’s ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).
“Who does not know that the main actor in this resignation is none other than the government chief whip P.C. George, who is a master of such acts,” opposition leader and former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan said.
Selvaraj, he said, had been “bought over” to save the Oommen Chandy government.
Selvaraj, 63, a two-time legislator from Neyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district, arrived at Speaker G. Karthikeyan’s residence Friday morning and put in his papers.
Left leaders have alleged that George and Selvaraj first went to the residence of Chief Minister Oommen before going to the speaker’s house.
George hit back.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. More bombs like this will explode, and you should not be surprised if even Achuthanandan meets a similar fate,” George told reporters Saturday.
Left leaders alleged that numerous development projects was sanctioned in a hurry by the Chandy government in Selvaraj’s constituency.
Chandy pointed out that similar sanctions have been given in CPI leaders A.A. Arif’s and T. Hamza’s constituencies too.
“Does that mean they are also going to resign as legislators? If there are issues in CPI-M, they should settle it and not blame us for the problems they are facing,” Chandy told reporters.
Selvaraj dismissed the allegations as baseless.
“I did not meet the chief minister and I have not discussed my resignation with George either. I am talking to my supporters and I will call a public meeting in Neyattinkara and talk about my future plans,” he said.