Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan moved the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau seeking an anti-corruption inquiry against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter and IT consultant T. Veena.
Mr. Kuzhalnadan contends that the retainer fee paid in instalments by a mining firm based in Kochi to Ms. Veena during the 2016-2020 period was thinly disguised bribes.
Quoting an Income Tax disputes settlement board finding, Mr. Kuzhalnadan argued in his petition that Ms. Veena’s firm had rendered no reciprocal service to justify the retainers estimated at nearly ₹1.72 crore.
KPCC president K. Sudhakaran said the complaint was a precursor to the Congress seeking legal action for alleged graft against Ms. Veena.
Earlier, Mr. Vijayan had denied the charges. He said the payments were above board, accounted and tax paid for. He said the board had not sought Ms. Veena’s version or summoned her for a hearing before making a judgemental and biased observation.
Mr. Vijayan had also pointed out that Central government-appointed officials in the forum might have acted as the BJP’s cat paw to target him and his family.
