Kannur (Kerala) [India], March 24 (ANI): Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Peravur MLA Sunny Joseph has targeted Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan, claiming that he is repeatedly raising baseless allegations against Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and senior leader of the Congress.

Joseph said that Rahul Gandhi was strongly protesting across the country against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and leading powerful protests both inside and outside the Parliament.

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The Congress MLA alleged a secret understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP and that Vijayan was making these allegations solely to facilitate the CPI(M)-BJP alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections.

"Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is never ready to say even a single word against the Prime Minister. Does the CPI(M) central leadership approve of the Chief Minister's stance? We all know that CPI(M) candidates in Tamil Nadu are asking for votes by using the photograph of Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India's opposition," he said while addressing a press conference here today.

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"We know that because he spoke out strongly against the BJP and took firm political stands, more than 30 cases-36 cases to be exact- have already been filed against him in various parts of the country. Even though BJP leaders tried to trap him in legal cases to make him retreat, Rahul Gandhi is moving forward courageously as the face and leader of secular India."

"The country witnessed the malicious attempts made to revoke Rahul Gandhi's Parliament membership from Wayanad. Why is it that [the Chief Minister is silent on this]...?" Joseph said.

Earlier today, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal also alleged a "clear and unholy nexus" between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the CPI(M) in Kerala, claiming that both parties have entered into a tacit understanding in several constituencies.

Addressing reporters today in Alappuzha, Venugopal said the allegation is "not baseless" and can be observed by closely examining the candidate lists of the two parties.

Kerala CM Vijayan has dismissed the allegations and termed them as "baseless and absurd."

Addressing a press conference today in Idukki, Vijayan said, "These are baseless and absurd allegations. In 1971, when A K Gopalan contested from Palakkad, the Congress candidate was an RSS-backed leader."

The Congress, the chief minister said, "has a long history of aligning with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh without any hesitation"

"Such alliances have been repeated multiple times, eventually leading to what is known as the 'coalition of convenience.' Was it not the Congress that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party open its account in Nemom? The leakage of Congress votes was evident. The same pattern was visible during the Thrissur parliamentary elections as well."

The BJP had won its first-ever MLA seat in Kerala from the Nemom constituency in 2016 with the victory of O Rajagopal. However, in the 2021 elections, BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan lost the seat to CPI (M)'s V Sivankutty,

Vijayan further said, "The BJP's primary political opponent has always been the Left. At various points, it is the Congress that has entered into opportunistic understandings. The BJP knows that it can easily deal with the Congress, and in many cases, it prefers a Congress victory. These allegations of a 'deal' are nothing but a preemptive defence by the Congress to cover up its own history of such arrangements. Those who are making these accusations are the ones who have long been accustomed to such political deals."

Meanwhile, in the upcoming April 9 elections to the 140-seat Kerala Assembly, the KPCC president Sunny Joseph is pitted against K K Shailaja of the CPI (M). Shailaja had lost the 2011 election to Sunny Joseph by a narrow margin of around 2,700 votes.Shailaja had lost the 2011 election to Sunny Joseph by a narrow margin of around 2,700 votes. Joseph had also won the 2016 and the 2021 Assembly elections from Peeravoor. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)