The government has accorded sanction to prosecute Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) legislator K.M. Shaji for corruption.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has registered a case against the MLA on the charge of having accepted a bribe of ₹25 lakh from the management of a higher secondary school in his constituency at Azhikode in Kannur district for sanctioning commence Plus Two course in 2014.
The IUML had held the Education portfolio at that time.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition had reacted sharply to the development.
It accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of pursuing a personal vendetta against Mr. Shaji for having questioned “the illegal diversion" of the Chief Minister Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) funds to party workers to help them "settle personal loans."
Mr. Shaji had raised the allegation in a controversial Facebook post on Wednesday.
At his customary COVID-19 news briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Vijayan had lashed out at Mr Shaji.
An assemblage of UDF leaders rushed to the defence of Mr. Shaji. IUML general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty said the MLA was the victim of a cruel political vendetta. The government had targetted him for persecution instead of answering the questions the legislator had raised about the "misuse" of CMDRF funds.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy echoed a similar sentiment.
A VACB official said the case against Mr. Shaji was not a knee jerk response instigated by the MLA's criticism of the CMDRF. It had its provenance in a complaint filed by an IUML worker against Mr. Shaji in 2017.
The agency had conducted a preliminary inquiry and found merit in the petitioner’s allegations. In 2019, the agency had sought the permission of Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan to prosecute Mr. Shaji on the charge graft. The Speaker had given his approval in early March.
