nThe political discourse between the CPI(M) and the Congress, the two principal players in Kerala reached the lowest ebb by Saturday as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran threw all laws of civility to the winds and called each other names in public.

It began on Friday during the daily media briefing on Covid-19 status in the State by Vijayan who alleged in the course of the interaction that Sudhakaran had hatched a conspiracy to kidnap his children some years ago. “It was the timely information provided by a close associate of Sudhakaran that saved my children,” alleged Vijayan who even termed the new KPCC chief as a mafia don.

Vijayan’s ire against Sudhakaran was the fall out of an interview the latter had given to a vernacular weekly in which he had said that the former was the prime accused in the murder of Vaadikkal Ramakrishnan, a RSS activist and also in the murder of a person by name Babu.

Following Vijayan’s charge that Sudhakaran was a political criminal and close associate of the Sangh Parivar, the KPCC chief chose Saturday to retaliate. The day saw Sudhakaran holding a press meet at Kochi and spilling more beans. “Vijayan was the person who murdered Ramakrishnan. Since no witnesses came forward to testify against him, he was given the benefit of doubt and was acquitted,” said Sudhakaran.

But was more to follow as the Congress leader accused Vijayan in the murder of Babu, a personal bodyguard of the CPI(M) leader.

“Though Babu was a close associate of Vijayan, they fell apart and the murder was the fall out of the parting of ways,” said Sudhakaran.

Sudhakaran  presented a former beedi worker Kandoth Gopi who was a victim of an armed assault led by Vijayan. “During the emergency days, I was leading an agitation against the management of a beedi company for its decision to terminate the services of some workers. Vijayan with a group of armed Marxist leaders attacked me and I had a providential escape,” alleged Gopi.

The Congress leaders including Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan joined issue with Vijayan later in the day. “The State is witnessing an unprecedented illegal tree felling scam. Vijayan is trying to divert the  attention of the public by raising unnecessary issues,” said Satheeshan while leaders like Oommen Chandi and Ramesh Chennithala bemoaned the fall in the standards of political discourse, giving credence to reports that all was not well within the Congress itself.

V Muraleedharan, BJP leader and minister of State for parliamentary issues tried to chip in with his assessment by describing the CPI(M) and Congress leaders as political criminals.

The State administration reacted instantly by withdrawing the police security provided to him terming that the union minister belonged to the Y category and the State administration was not bound to provide him any security.