Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Friday said the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's current guardian angel.
Talking to mediapersons here, Mr. Satheesan said the tacit understanding between the ostensibly ideologically opposed power centres had, for one, caused the Customs probe into the high-profile and politically charged UAE diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case to fizzle out. The main accused had confessed that Mr. Vijayan was aware of the racket.
The then Customs Commissioner had deposed in court that he had issued a show-cause notice to Mr. Vijayan based on the statement. Mr. Vijayan's former Principal Secretary, M. Sivasankar, was up to the neck in gold smuggling, he said.
Still, Mr. Vijayan insisted in the Assembly that the Opposition should identify who illegally imported the gold and for whom. If so, Mr. Vijayan should relinquish the Home portfolio and nominate a UDF leader in his stead, Mr. Satheesan said.
KSEB row
He said that Mr. Vijayan was suspiciously tolerant of corruption. He had pointedly refused to investigate KSEB chairman B. Asok's damning revelation that left trade unions in the public utility had abused power and indulged in corruption and nepotism during the tenure of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government.
At the time, the KSEB had accorded scenic land to the then Power Minister M. M. Mani's son-in-law to start a hydel tourism venture in Idukki. Moreover, the Board had extended undue pecuniary advantage to three private power supply companies by purchasing electricity from them at higher than market rates and despite the disapproval of the regulatory commission. The agreement has caused the exchequer an annual recurrent loss of ₹600 crore, he alleged.
Mr. Satheesan said Mr. Vijayan allowed Mr. Mani to berate the incumbent Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty in the Assembly for seemingly endorsing Mr. Asok's damning revelations.
The Chief Minister had also brushed off the accusation that the Kerala State Medical Services Corporation had purchased COVID-19 protective gear and anti-viral drugs at an exaggerated rate from agents for fly-by-night firms who were not original equipment manufacturers. Mr. Vijayan seemed to justify the big-ticket corruption by citing the pandemic to explain the “distress purchases”, he said.
The Opposition would move the court to seek an inquiry into the accusations. He also denied that factionalism had reared its head again in the Congress’s State unit.
