Veteran communist leader and Kerala Administrative Reforms Committee Chairman VS Achuthanandan on Tuesday thundered to fellow-legislators that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Kummanam Rajasekharan and his aides should be kicked out of Kerala for terming cooperative banks as black money hubs.
The venue was the state Legislative Assembly that had convened a special Assembly session in Thiruvananthapuram to discuss the present crisis in the co-operative sector following the Centre's recent demonetisation move.
Tussle between the LDF government in Kerala and the Centre began following the RBI ban on co-operative banks from accepting recently devalued currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000.
This was reportedly done on the suspicion that co-operative banks have developed into hubs of black money, a notion that found a vocal supporter in Kummanam and a few of his aides.
“It is the consistent efforts made by the masses that have strengthened the co-operative sector in the state. The crumbling of this sector would suffocate Kerala's very soul to death. That cannot be allowed. Rajasekharan and his team, who are in favour of the same should be kicked out of Kerala,” VS roared.
Even as the state Opposition expressed its solidarity with the Left government in the matter, the BJP top brass in Kerala has dutifully echoed the view adopted by their national leaders.
Reiterating the saffron opinion in the Assembly, MLA O Rajagopal said that black money holders use co-operative banks to "convert it into white money."
Many BJP leaders in the state have however also unofficially expressed their reservation against the top brass from making such sweeping statements against the cooperative sector.