Thiruvananthapuram : The probe report on Nemom vote deal that helped BJP to obtain its first-time membership to Kerala Legislative Assembly, was muffled by Congress seniors . The report contained findings of the party’s probe commission and spoke about BJP leader O Rajagopal winning the Nemom constituency on strength of votes flipped by Congress to BJP. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala considered the findings damning to UDF and prevented the report from being tabled at the next UDF meeting.
In a prior meeting, MP Veerendra Kumar has sought probe into V Surendran Pillai’s defeat at Nemom. Johnson Abraham, the KPCC treasurer, headed the Probe Commission appointed for the purpose. The Commission confirmed vote sale to BJP at Nemom and recommended removal of 5 leaders for their involvement. However, the report was neither discussed nor acted upon.
Much of BJP’s gain from Congress’s flipped votes happened at Karamana, Kaladi and Poojapura area. V Surendran Pillai, the then UDF candidate, affirmed how Congress workers had removed themselves from most booths by noon on the election day. There were no Congress workers present to receive him at these booths, said Surendran Pillai.
