Thiruvananthapuram | Senior CPI(M) leader V Sivankutty on Monday demanded a comprehensive police probe into alleged financial irregularities in the BJP's Assembly election campaign, citing media reports of large-scale misappropriation of party funds.
In a statement, Sivankutty alleged that media reports had raised serious questions about expenditure incurred on hiring helicopters and vehicles for the election campaign.
He referred to reports alleging irregularities in a contract worth Rs 3.5 crore for the production of one crore party flags, saying the issue could not be treated lightly.
Claiming that public contributions and funds collected from party workers had allegedly been misused, the CPI(M) leader said a thorough police investigation was needed to ascertain the truth and bring the facts before the public.
He urged the police to initiate a thorough investigation and take appropriate legal action to uncover the facts behind the allegations, asserting that the public had a right to know the truth.
The BJP, however, had earlier rejected the allegations.
In a recent Facebook post, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar had termed as "false" an alleged BJP office circular being circulated on social media and television channels in his name.
He had claimed that no financial irregularities related to the Assembly election campaign had been detected within the party and said the BJP had completed audits at the national, state, district, and constituency levels soon after the polls.
Chandrasekhar had maintained that the party's election campaign in Kerala was carried out through a transparent system, pointing to the BJP's performance in winning three Assembly seats and putting up strong contests in several constituencies as evidence of its organisational strength.
He had alleged that "anti-national forces" and political rivals were spreading fake news out of jealousy over the BJP's growth and leadership, and warned that the party would take legal action against those responsible for creating and circulating such content.
The BJP leader had said that disciplinary action within the party was an internal matter and did not concern the public or the media.