Nilambur MLA P. V. Anvar on Thursday alleged that IT companies outside the State had paid ₹150 crore to Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan to sabotage the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project.
Participating in the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address, Mr. Anvar alleged that Mr. Satheesan received ₹150 crore towards election fund to sabotage the project, which would have transformed Kerala into a major IT hub, drawing jobs away from IT firms outside the State.
According to Mr. Anvar, the money was brought to Kerala from Bengaluru in containers in three stages of ₹50 crore each to the Chettuva beach. They were transferred to Mr. Satheesan’s associates in two ambulances, according to him. Mr. Anvar further alleged that Mr. Satheesan had invested the money in Karnataka and had been visiting Bengaluru at least thrice a month. His trips should be investigated, he said.
Mr. Satheesan sought to brush aside the allegation saying that he had only sympathy towards Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who had allowed an MLA in the Left front to raise such an allegation in the State Assembly. “I do not know whether I should laugh or cry,” Mr. Satheesan said. Mr. Satheesan, however, added that he did not want the allegation removed from the Assembly documents as future generations should be aware that people such as Mr. Anvar were also part of the Assembly. But he wanted a reference to Congress general secretary K. C. Venugopal to be expunged.
Significantly, Mr. Vijayan, in his address to the House, did not comment on Mr. Anvar’s allegation.
