Kerala CPI-M secretary's 'yatra' in luxury car sparks row

CPI-M Kerala Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has landed in a controversy with the Congress and BJP alleging that the vehicle he used for the party's 'Jana Jagratha Yatra' in Kozhikode belonged to a person accused in a gold-smuggling case.
The row erupted after regional TV channels aired visuals of the Left leader purportedly conducting the roadshow in a mini-Cooper convertible car and waving at party cadres while passing through the streets of Koduvally in Kozhikode district yesterday.
Reacting to the allegations, Balakrishnan said he did not know who owned the car.
BJP state general secretary K Surendran posted the visuals on Facebook and alleged that the car was owned by a person involved in gold-smuggling.

Surendran asserted he was ready to give evidence to prove his point and asked if Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would order a probe in the matter.
The Congress also launched a attack on the Left party with its leader Ramesh Chennithala saying the incident exposed the "fake face" of the CPI(M). It also exposed the "real friends" of the ruling party, he said.

"What type of 'Jagratha Yatra' is being taken out by Balakrishnan by travelling in a car owned by a smuggling accused?," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly asked in a statement.
Hitting out at the CPI-M, IUML state secretary M C Mayin Hajisaid the car belonged to a person accused of attempting to smuggle gold through the Karipur Airport.

He claimed a case against the car owner was registered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2013.
"The CPI-M always boast that they represent poor, the downtrodden and marginalised in the society. But their real relation is with the rich and influential," the IUML leader added.
Reacting to the allegations, Balakrishnan said the party did not have any open jeep in Koduvally. The local people arranged the vehicle, he said, adding he did not know who the owner was.
He also said only an inquiry will establish if the local unit made any lapses in this regard.
The CPI-M-led LDF is organising two 'Jana Jagratha Yatras', one led by CPI state secretary Kannam Rajendran from here and another by Balakrishnan from Manjeswaram in Kasaragod, to counter the BJP's "communal agenda" and highlight the state government's achievements.

The yatra led by Rajendran is scheduled to conclude at Ernakulam and the one led by Balakrishnan at Thrissur, after crisscrossing all the 140 assembly constituencies of the state, on November 3.