Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister and senior Congress observer for the forthcoming Kerala Assembly elections, Sachin Pilot, on Thursday expressed surprise over the silence of the CPM leadership in Kerala on the issue of US trade tariffs.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Pilot said the lack of protest from the CPM suggested an understanding between the Left and the BJP in Kerala ahead of the polls. He alleged that the political proximity shows how chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had managed to secure repeated deferrals of the SNC-Lavalin corruption case in the Supreme Court, a record 37 times.

The case involves Canadian power company SNC Lavalin, which Pinarayi is alleged to have favoured when he was power minister in 1997. A CAG report said Kerala lost ₹374 crore in the Lavalin deal.

The CPM politburo had issued a statement early this month stating that the India-US trade deal was an attack on the country's sovereignty.

Pilot, however, pointed out that despite the party’s general secretary, M.A. Baby, hailing from Kerala, neither he nor the state leadership had raised concerns about the impact of US trade tariffs on Kerala’s farmers.

Pilot recalled that usually the Left used to oppose the US all the time but remained stoic when it came to Kerala despite it being one of the most affected states by the tariff measures announced by US President Donald Trump.

"The ground perception is that the CPM in Kerala has become a B-team of the BJP. They have not uttered a word against the US. The Left in Kerala is fully in cahoots with the BJP, and both are keen to ensure that the Congress-led UDF government doesn’t come to power in Kerala.

"It suits Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have the same chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala. Without the support of the top echelons of power at the Centre, Vijayan cannot defer the hearing for a record 37 times on the long-pending corruption charges against him," said Pilot.

The Rajasthan leader expressed apprehension about Modi’s recent two-day visit to Israel. Pilot recalled that it was during former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s tenure in 1991-92 that India-Israel bilateral relations saw a transformation, ended decades of cold relations and established diplomatic ties.

"But now, under Modi’s tenure, the attempt is to patronise all foreign policies and bilateral relations. There are certain principles, contexts and your country’s interests that must be foremost and taken into consideration," added Pilot.