CPI(M), Congress train guns on BJP's Chandrasekhar over alleged Karnataka 'land scam'

Palakkad/Kannur (Kerala) | The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress on Tuesday accused the state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar of being involved in a "land scam" in Karnataka and demanded action against him.

The state BJP chief has dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and "lies." While CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan sought an SIT probe against Chandrasekhar, the Congress demanded that the BJP chief resign from his post and that he should be arrested.

The Congress held a protest march in Palakkad to the office of the BJP-ruled municipal corporation, raised slogans against Chandrasekhar and burnt his effigy.

Speaking to reporters, the protestors demanded that the BJP leader resign from his post and that he should be arrested in connection with the land scam.

The BJP leader denied the allegations. At a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, he warned that legal action would be taken against those who spread "lies" against him.

"It is all baseless. It is not true," he had said.

He claimed the allegations were aimed at diverting attention from the accusations of corruption he levelled against the Congress and the CPI(M).

"This is not a new tactic. It has been going on for a long time," Chandrasekhar said, adding that "there will be legal action against the platform spreading such lies".

Govindan, while speaking at an event in Kannur, alleged that the BJP leader sold for a huge profit, the land given to his father-in-law's company for industrial development in Karnataka.

The CPI(M) veteran demanded a comprehensive probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the matter.