Crores of money has reached the company owned by T. Veena, daughter of Pinarayi Vijayan, during the latter’s tenure as Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said. Mr. Vijayan should step down from the post until the investigation into the company, Exalogic Solutions Private Limited, is completed, he added. He was addressing mediapersons as part of Samaragni, a Statewide Yatra organised by the Congress, here, on Sunday.
“The ongoing incidents confirm the allegations of the United Democratic Front (UDF) that the State is ruled by a corrupt government. Even before the controversies connected to Exalogic came into light, the Registrar of Companies Karnataka, in 2021, had sought an explanation from the company. The Registrar of Companies sent a letter to Exalogic seeking details of the charitable institutions that were sending money to the company every month. The Chief Minister should clarify why they were sending money to Exalogic without utilising its service,” he said. Though the Registrar of Companies wrote to Exalogic in 2021, the Central agencies did not investigate the case. The probe started only when the issue became a controversy.
“The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government will collapse if it is proved that Mr. Vijayan is corrupt. It will benefit the Congress and the UDF. So the BJP and the LDF reached a consensus to avoid the situation,” Mr. Satheesan added.
‘Hidden understanding’
Alleging a ‘hidden understanding’ between the BJP and the CPI(M), he said the ED had not arrested any CPI(M) leader in the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam though there was solid evidence against them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Thrissur for the BJP’s poll campaign should be observed against this background. “We are watching whether the ED investigation in Karuvannur will lead to an undercurrent in the Lok Sabha election. BJP State president K. Surendran was not brought to book in the hawala money deal,” he said.
Taking a dig at the Union government, he said selling rice from the FCI godown just before the election and setting up selfie corners with Modi’s picture were cheap election gimmicks.