The Communist Party of India(Marxist) [CPI(M)] pushed back against Congress’s campaign targeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family on corruption charges.
CPI(M) Central secretariat member A.K. Balan dared Congress leader Mathew Kuzhalnadan to quit politics if the party proved that Mr. Vijayan’s daughter, Veena Vijayan, had paid IGST compensation on retainers received from a Kochi-based mining firm for IT services her firm rendered between the 2016-20 period.
He said Ms. Vijayan was in the clear, and the CPI(M) was morally bound to protect victims of slanderous campaigns, irrespective of their political leanings.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan, quoting a statutory IT disputes board order, had alleged that the pay cheques were bribes and Ms. Vijayan’s firm had rendered no tangible service to the mining company.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan also claimed to have dissected Ms. Vijayan’s firm’s audit report. He alleged she had not paid export service tax on finances she received as a retainer from companies based abroad.
Leader of Opposition V. D.Satheesan and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala accused Mr. Vijayan of being afraid to address questions about his family’s financial transactions. They said the Chief Minister had avoided the media since February.
Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan retorted that Mr. Vijayan was not a media creation. “The CM’s path to politics was paved with struggle and pain. No media had smoothened his rise in the party and government,” he said.
Mr. Vasavan said the CPI(M) had built its base in Puthupally from the booth level upwards incrementally. It controlled most of the panchayats and cooperative societies in the Assembly segment. “Congress was in for a hard fight”, he said.
CPI(M) State Secretary M. V. Govindan said the Congress vilified Mr. Vijayan to conceal their failure to develop the Puthuppally Assembly constituency for 53 years at a stretch. He said Mr. Kuzhalnadan was nobody to challenge the CPI(M).
The CPI(M) bid to insulate Mr Vijayan is a precursor to the latter’s tour of the Assembly constituency seeking votes for party candidate Jaick C. Thomas.
Mr. Thomas said Mr. Vijayan’s campaign tour would cover every panchayat in Puthuppally. Mr. Vijayan would talk about development and welfare.
Congress candidate Chandy Oommen refused to comment about the corruption scandals raised against the government and Mr. Vijayan. He said the Congress leadership would comment on such matters, and “furthering Puthuppally’s development” commanded his focus.
