Appointment of ex I-T official, who probed Pinarayi, as private secy raises questions

Thiruvananthapuram: Two leading activists on Saturday alleged that the appointment of R Mohan as Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's private secretary was a quid pro quo deal between the two.

R Mohan, a former Income Tax official, was appointed as Pinarayi's private secretary in March when the election model code of conduct was in force.

"Mohan, as additional director (investigation) of Income Tax, in 2007 probed corruption charges against Pinarayi on the orders of the Kerala High Court. Pinarayi was then the CPM state secretary and petitioner T P Nandkumar had sought information on sources of his income," said Neelakantan, a former leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Kerala.

"In 2007, Mohan submitted a report in the High Court giving Pinarayi a clean chit. The clean chit was based on an affidavit submitted by Pinarayi himself. But in 2008, in a letter to the Additional Solicitor General, he said that the Central Board of Direct Taxes was still looking into the charges," said Neelakantan.

"So far chief minister's private secretary was usually a senior state committee member of the CPM. This is for the first time that a bureaucrat has been appointed to the position. That's where the suspicion arises that this is nothing but a quid pro quo deal for the services that Mohan rendered to Pinarayi," added activist Shajahan.

The two activists said they have already submitted a RTI query for details of the clean chit to Pinarayi and will also approach the CBDT soon.

"The CPM was supporting the first UPA government in 2007-08 and there is every chance of the case having been swept under the carpet. We will bring it out," they added.

When contacted, Mohan told IANS: "It's their right to speak. I do not have anything to say."