As Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan turns on his aggression, the opposition seems in a mood to provoke him even further.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Monday hurled a series of posers on what he termed the "Life Mission Scandal", knowing fully well that the media would bounce these questions to the Chief Minister at the customary COVID sunset briefing.
Chennithala said it was wrong for the Chief Minister to consider the corruption chapter closed after booting out his secretary M Sivasankar. "Now, the Life Mission scandal has established the Chief Minister's guilt," Chennithala said.
Swapna Suresh, the second accused in the gold smuggling case, had told her interrogators that the Rs one crore found in her bank locker was the commission she had received for securing the Life Mission deal for Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), a Dubai-based voluntary organisation. The ERC had given Rs 20 crore to construct 141 houses under the Life Mission and Swapna, by her own admission, had pocketed Rs one crore of the amount. She had also revealed that it was on the advice of Sivasankar that she deposited the money in a locker jointly held by her and a chartered accountant close to Sivasankar.
Question one
"No development related to the project can take place without the Chief Minister's knowledge. The Chief Minister is the chairman of the project envisaged to build homes for the poor," the opposition leader said.
He said the stand taken by the National Investigation Agency in the court had pointed fingers at the Chief Minister. "The agency has said that Swapna Suresh had deep influence in the Chief Minister's Office. They said that if she was let out she could influence witnesses and weaken the case. This was why they wanted her bail plea to be rejected," he said and framed his most damning question: "Was Swapna Suresh present when an MoU was signed with Emirates Red Crescent in the presence of the Chief Minister?"
The opposition leader said he had information that four days before the Chief Minister flew to Dubai to ink the deal with Red Crescent, Swapna and Sivasankar had travelled to Dubai together. He hinted that they flew out early to firm up the deal before the Chief Minister arrived.
Questions two and three
His next question was how Emirates Red Crescent could enter into a deal with Kerala without informing its 'mother NGO', Red Cross. "Emirates Red Crescent is part of the Red Cross. The Kerala wing of the Red Cross has no idea of this and they have registered a complaint with the Ministry of External Affairs," Chennithala said.
"The Law Department was aware of the deal but has it sought the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs," Chennithala asked?
Question four
He also raised suspicions about Unitac, the company picked to construct houses funded by Emirates Red Crescent. "This is a company patronised by Sivasankar. Has any other government projects been granted to the company," Chennithala said.
Chennithala said the very fact that Sivasankar had advised Swapna to keep the commission money in the locker was a clear sign that the Chief Minister was aware of the deal.
