Bharatiya Janata Party State president K. Surendran has said the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board’s revelation that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan had accepted ₹1.72 crore from a private sand-mining company in the past three years was shocking and disturbing.
“The Chief Minister should explain to the people the deal his family has made with the sand-mining company,” Mr. Surendran told mediapersons at Kuttippuram on Wednesday.
He said the people had the right to know what benefit the company had gained from paying the Chief Minister’s daughter. “What help did he give the company back?”
Mr. Surendran said if the payment made by the company to the Chief Minister’s daughter was in return for some favour, then it was a sign of corruption.
“The State and central leaderships of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) should answer for this corruption. Sitaram Yechury, who pretends to be infallible, should give an answer to this,” the BJP leader said.
He added that the Opposition in the State was functioning as an auxiliary team of the Chief Minister. He accused Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan of compromising with the Chief Minister in matters of corruption. “Mr. Satheesan is not a Leader of the Opposition; rather he is a leader of the ruling front.”