The Congress on Thursday seized on the recently ordered Vigilance inquiry against Mathew Kuzhalnadan, MLA, to reinforce its attack line that the Pinarayi Vijayan government routinely subverted law enforcement to launch political witch-hunts against dissenters, whistle-blowers, Opposition leaders and independent journalists.
The government had ordered a preliminary Vigilance probe against Mr. Kuzhalnadan on suspicion of irregularities in the sale and registration of properties, including alleged violation of land assignment laws, to build a commercial building in the environmentally sensitive Idukki district.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan had emerged as the government’s latest bugbear by repeatedly attempting to personally bait Mr. Vijayan over allegations of corruption against his daughter and IT consultant T.Veena.
Mr. Vijayan had vehemently denied the imputations in the House and outside. He saw it as a concerted attempt to besmirch him. The CPI(M) also alleged an Opposition-corporate media plot to target Mr. Vijayan. The Chief Minister articulated the view at a press conference he held after a hiatus of seven months here on Wednesday.
Fielding a barrage of questions about the corruption allegations against his kin, Mr. Vijayan said: “I know some have been out to destroy me for years. They have targeted my family to get to me. I ask them to stay the course. I have not betrayed the public trust and such insinuations have no effect on me,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan defended the IT consultancy’s “transparent and legitimate transactions” with a Kochi-based mining firm.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kuzhalnadan sought to punch holes in Mr. Vijayan’s claim.
Speaking to mediapersons in Kochi, the MLA portrayed himself as the victim of a political witch-hunt launched by Mr. Vijayan to wreak vengeance for putting his daughter’s “questionable” earnings from the mining company under a harsh public spotlight. He quoted an Income Tax disputes settlement board’s purported finding that the IT consultancy helmed by Ms. Veena rendered no tangible service to the Kochi-based mining company. “Yet the IT firm received ₹1.72 crore as retaining fee between 2016 and 2020,” he alleged.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan cast the transactions as political corruption by proxy and alleged the mining firm’s payment ledger detailing sizeable handouts to top politicians included Mr. Vijayan’s name (PV), a charge denied by the Chief Minister.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the Congress would politically and legally counter the case against Mr. Kuzhalnadan. The case against Mr. Kuzhalnadan dovetailed with the CPI(M)‘s policy to foist false cases against Opposition leaders, he said.
