Thiruvananthapuram: As the infighting in the Kerala wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) becomes more pronounced in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation's request to prosecute state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, the opposition Congress is watching with glee.
The Congress hopes the corruption case will help it electorally and prove to be CPI-M's undoing after the Left Front had swept the Lok Sabha elections in the state in 2004.
With the Vijayan caught up in the SNC-Lavalin corruption case, political climate has never been so good for the Congress.
The party is all set to make the corruption case a big issue for the Lok Sabha elections and is all set to launch 'The save Kerala campaign' with a specific focus on the Lavalin case.
"Transparency in public life is most important issue here. Unfortunately CPI-M and politburo is trying to shield the culprits and we shall expose that to the people," says Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President.
The Auditor General has asked three weeks time to study the letter forwarded by the Governor seeking permission to prosecute Vijayan, something which many see as a ploy by the state government to help Vijayan complete his Nava-Kerala yatra (tour).
While Chief Minister VS Achuthanathan might have made his mind clear, the rest of his Cabinet is busy shielding the part secretary.
It's this that the Congress-led opposition will look to attack in the days to come.
"We agree to what the Chief Minister says. But that's not what his ministers are doing. Chief Minister should be able to restrain his ministers from making statements that support the accused in this case," says Ommen Chandy, senior Congress leader and leader of Opposition.
The Lok Sabha elections are just two months away and the Congress in Kerala perhaps for the first time will feel that they have a real issue on their hands which could very well put them on a sound wicket in the run up to the polls.
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