Kerala Minister's "Trojan Horse" Jab At Senior Congress Leader KC Venugopal

Kerala CPI(M) leader and state minister V Sivankutty on Friday launched a scathing attack against AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, calling him a "Trojan horse" deployed by the BJP to destroy the Congress.

Hours after Venugopal alleged that the Left government in Kerala was working according to the wishes of the BJP government at the Centre, Sivankutty hit back at the Congress leader, accusing him of giving "wrong advice" to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Venugopal alleged that the Left government had tried to implement the Labour Code of the central government despite pro-Left trade unions, including CITU and AITUC, expressing concern over it.

He also cited the recent signing of the PM SHRI project by the Left government and said such steps were extremely condemnable.

Facing strong resistance from its major coalition partner, the CPI, the CPI(M)-led government last month decided to put on hold the implementation of the Centre's PM SHRI scheme in the state, days after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard in New Delhi.

Responding to the allegations, Sivankutty told media in Thiruvananthapuram that Venugopal is "the great leader who deliberately gave up" his Rajya Sabha candidature in order to ensure a majority for the BJP in the Upper House.

"By giving Rahul Gandhi wrong advice, he is implementing a strategy that weakens the Congress in every state where elections are held. Instead of strengthening the party, he is trying to destroy it," alleged Sivankutty, who holds both the Labour and Education portfolios in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.

"Even when central investigative agencies have targeted Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, one must think about why only K C Venugopal -- the organisational general secretary who leads the Congress -- remains completely safe. This is proof that there is an active internal nexus between him and the BJP," the CPI(M) leader alleged.

He also claimed that Venugopal's next goal is to prepare the ground for the BJP in Kerala.

"Every Congress worker and leader must recognise this move, through which he is digging a pit for his own party," Sivankutty alleged, referring to Venugopal's frequent interventions in Kerala politics.

The Left government in Kerala had recently found itself in a difficult position after a draft regulation linked to the Centre's Labour Codes--introduced three years ago--came to light.

The Left parties have been strongly opposing these labour codes at the national level, calling them "anti-worker". The draft regulation, however, had already been notified in the state on December 14, 2021.

Following media reports, Sivankutty was forced to issue a clarification on Thursday, saying that the Centre's Labour Codes would not be implemented in the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)