Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has requested Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to investigate Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan on the twin charges of corruption and extravagance.
In a letter to Mr. Khan on Thursday, Mr. Chennithala accused the Speaker of splurging an estimated ₹100 crore or more on quixotic projects and meaningless events that had more to do with corruption than public good or legislative business during the time of dire economic hardship.
In stark contrast to the Speaker’s unbridled spending, the modern Assembly complex had cost the public exchequer only ₹76 crore.
Sabha TV
He said wasteful expenditure and nepotism marked the launch of Sabha TV when the floods had cratered the State’s finances. The Legislative Secretariat had hired private consultants at high salaries and accommodated them in expensive apartments for the project.
He said Sabha TV, envisaged to telecast legislative proceedings, had overstepped its mandate and forayed into fancy programming. The irregularities in the Sabha TV project warranted an anti-corruption inquiry.
So far, the legislature has paid more than ₹21 lakh to the consultants.
Mr. Chennithala said the Speaker had contracted the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) to execute the e-niyamasabha project. He had overlooked the expertise of agencies such as the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
He hired the ULCCS, which had questionable proficiency and scant expertise in undertaking such IT-related works. Moreover, the Speaker accorded ₹13.59 crore, an estimated 30% of the total project cost, as mobilisation advance to the ULCCS.
He said the refurbished Assembly lounge was another classic example of overspending at a time of economic hardship. Mr. Chennithala urged Mr. Khan to order a free and fair investigation into the “murky and wasteful” deals struck by Mr. Sreeramakrishnan.
