Kerala polls 2026: Pinarayi Vijayan targets Rahul Gandhi, silent on BJP, says Sachin Pilot

KOCHI: AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot has said that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is engaging in selective criticism, noting that while Vijayan frequently targets Rahul Gandhi, he remains silent on BJP and central govt. Pilot told reporters in Kochi on Thursday that the CM and his party were criticising Rahul to please the BJP. The attacks on Rahul were part of the deal between the BJP and the CPM, he said. Pilot said that the CM has not said anything against the BJP. "CPM has nothing to say against the central govt's petroleum and foreign policies. The chief minister is reluctant to criticise the Centre on the shortage of cooking gas," he said. Modi and Pinarayi are not two but one. There are even these similarities in the case of posters, he added. "Has the BJP govt frozen the bank account of CPM or taken any action against any CPM leaders till date? Even though central agencies, including ED and IT, have unnecessarily harassed Congress leaders, including Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, they were not ready to question the CPM leaders who faced serious allegations. This is the biggest example of the BJP-CPM deal, Pilot said alleging that it was the BJP that was providing protection to corrupt CPM leaders. He asked why BJP, which wanted a Congress-free India, does not want a CPM-free Kerala? Pilot said that in Kerala, 95% of the state's revenue is used to pay interest and repayment of loans. "The Pinarayi govt has not been able to bring even a single big industry in the last ten years. If the UDF comes to power, the five guarantees will be implemented quickly," he said. He said that the UDF CM will be decided by the MLAs and the party leadership through consultation.