A series of shocking disclosures about corruption indulged in by party leaders have left the central leadership stunned. No wonder, the central leadership has taken a serious view of the sordid tale of graft. In view of the gravity of the offences, which have come out into the open, and a thorough overhaul of the party’s Kerala unit is on the cards. Reports have it that many more heads are set to roll.

Senior party leaders, including a former state president and a general secretary, are among the leaders accused of indulging in corruption. A former president has been accused of taking money from a businessman while a general secretary is among party leaders who have not yet submitted accounts of the expenses incurred in the assembly elections.

To cite a specific instance, the Malappuram district committee of the BJP has ordered a probe into the allegation that two of its leaders had accepted a bribe from a resident of Manjeri promising a job to his son in a public sector bank.

Besides, the police have arrested elven persons, including a BJP national leader, for trying to kidnap an NRI businessman at Kodur, near Malappuram. BJP Minority Morcha secretary Aslam Gurukkal was among the seven arrested for trying to forcibly enter the house of NRI businessman KT Rabeeullah.

As if all this is not enough, several corporation councilors of the party are under watch for their links with business houses and middlemen.

Meanwhile, the fratricidal factionalism in the party got a new lease of life with warring factions led by former presidents V Muraleedharan and P K Krishnadas accusing each other of leaking to the media the report of the inquiry commission set up by the party. Both the factions separately met organizational secretary B L Santosh demanding action against the ‘guilty’.

Incidentally, the efforts of both the state and central leadership are to play down the unsavoury developments and make it appear as if the issue will die down with the expulsion of party’s cooperative cell convener R S Vinod. The contention: it is only an individualistic indiscretion and party leaders have nothing to do with the episode!

The central leadership should realize that such attempts to push the whole thing under the carpet and pretend everything is hunky dory with the party simply won’t do. The reality is that the perception that the BJP is no different from other parties when it comes to corruption and nepotism is gaining momentum and acceptance. The BJP’s image of being a party which has been untainted by corruption charges has taken a body blow, inflicting irreparable damage to its credibility and the corruption-free image projected by the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo.

What must worry the BJP’s national leadership the most are the revelations of the hawala transactions mentioned in the party’s interim report on the medical college bribery scam. The alleged resort to `the hawala route `to transfer the bribe amount running into crores has left the leadership red-faced. Such is the embarrassment caused by the disclosures that BJP state chief Kummanam Rajashekharan has stopped interacting with the media. It may be mentioned that the BJP has always targeted a particular community for being ready conduits for hawala transactions. The disclosures by the internal report that BJP leaders themselves are now resorting to the hawala route to transfer illegal funds has shocked the party’s rank and file and triggered a wave of anger against the party leaders.

There is no denying that Kerala BJP chief Kummanam Rajashekharan, who has been summoned by the central leaders, will have to do a lot of explaining. No doubt, the BJP in the state is in for serious trouble in the days ahead. (IPA Service)