SFIO findings against Kerala CM''s daughter politically motivated, says CPI(M)

Thiruvananthapuram/Madurai/Kochi | A day after reports stated that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has named Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter in an "illegal payment" scandal, the CPI(M) on Friday came to his defence by terming it as "politically motivated".

Meanwhile, Congress and BJP leaders reiterated their calls for resignation of Pinarayi Vijayan.

CPI(M) Politburo Coordinator Prakash Karat, the party's Kerala secretary M V Govindan, and state ministers P Rajeev and K N Balagopal, who are in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, for the ongoing party Congress, termed the SFIO action as "politically motivated".

They all said that it was also an attempt to tarnish the party's image by targeting the CM and therefore, it "would be dealt with both legally and politically".

Govindan also said that a "rainbow alliance" of the Congress, BJP, SDPI, Jamaat-e-Islami, etc was behind such attempts to target the party and Vijayan.

Neither the Chief Minister, who is currently in Madurai, nor Veena have reacted to the reports claiming that the SFIO investigation found that she had received Rs 2.70 crore from a private mining company without providing any services.

On the other hand, the Congress-led UDF contended that the issue was not "politically motivated" and was a serious matter.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters in Delhi that it was a serious issue and the demand for Vijayan's resignation by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, was "justified".

"He should resign on moral grounds in the circumstances, that is if he has any morals. It is a fact that CM's daughter's company got money without giving any services. So, it cannot be brushed aside by terming it as politically motivated," he said.

Similar views were aired by Satheesan when he spoke to reporters at north Paravur near Kochi.

He dismissed the CPI(M) claims of the SFIO action being politically motivated and reiterated his call for the CM's "immediate resignation" on moral grounds.

"If it was a political case, the Centre and the Sangh Parivar would have protected the CM," he alleged.

Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, who was the first person to highlight the alleged financial transactions between private mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and CM's daughter T Veena's now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic, reiterated his allegations of corruption against Vijayan.

Kuzhalnadan contended that the day was not far when the CM himself would be named as an accused in the SFIO probe, just like his daughter.

He also said that the High Court had quashed the vigilance court's observation that his complaint against the CM was politically motivated.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar too reiterated his earlier demand for Vijayan's resignation.

Chandrasekhar, in a Facebook post, said that since SFIO has been given permission to prosecute Veena, the CM should resign from his post.

He further said that if Kerala has to progress, then the politics of corruption and nepotism must end.

Earlier in the day, state Law Minister P Rajeev said that already three vigilance courts and the Kerala High Court have said that there was no evidence of corruption in connection with the alleged financial transactions between CMRL and Exalogic.

The reported SFIO action came nearly a week after the Kerala High Court dismissed a plea by Kuzhalnadan seeking a vigilance probe against Vijayan over the alleged financial transactions between CMRL and Exalogic.

The High Court had dismissed the plea saying that the MLA "failed" to place before the vigilance court the facts constituting the offence of corruption alleged by him against the CM, his daughter and her IT firm.

According to the reports, the SFIO investigation has uncovered a Rs 182 crore financial fraud within the mining company, in which several others are also accused.

It stated that the fraud was carried out by inflating non-existent expenses and creating fake bills.