Thiruvananthapuram: Heads are set to roll in the state BJP over the medical college scam. This warning given by national party president Amit Shah was conveyed by Mr B. L. Santhosh, BJP national joint organising general secretary, to the core committee meeting held here on Saturday. An emotional Mr M. T. Ramesh, general secretary, who is embroiled in the scam, told the meeting that the party’s stock had nosedived because a senior party leader tried to defame him. He warned that he would quit the party if stringent action was not taken against those who were behind the conspiracy.
The meeting was attended by state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, former state presidents, four BJP general secretaries and the two RSS nominees as general secretaries. Mr Santhosh, who was summoned to New Delhi from Kashmir, was asked to take stock of the situation in Kerala following the scam. He said that the central leadership will not show any “leniency or mercy” towards the culprits. Mr Ramesh raised allegations against the rival faction led by Mr V. Muraleedharan, former state president, without naming him. The mood at the meeting was ‘pro-Ramesh’ with the Muraleedharan camp taking a stoic stand, said a source.
Mr Ramesh said, “my colleagues killed me without killing me through this scam. There was a clear case of conspiracy against me. I started my political career through the ABVP and overnight my political career has come to an end. If stringent action is not taken against those who have conspired against me, I will quit the party”. However, Mr Muraleedharan and his loyalist, Mr K. Surendran, general secretary, remained silent. They demanded later that the scam should be probed.
BJP general secretaries Sobha Surendran and A. N. Radhakrishnan and former state president P. S. Sreedharan Pillai lamented that they had come to know of the inquiry commission only through the media. Later, at the office-bearers’ meeting, state secretaries B. Gopalakrishnan and V. K. Sajeevan, who belong to the anti- Muraleedharan camp, came down heavily on the conspirators. Mr Gopalakrishnan pointed fingers at Mr Muraleedharan, much to his embarrassment.
