Thiruvananthapuram: CPM state secretary M V Govindan on Sunday said the allegations of corruption against the AI-enabled camera project are to hide the achievements of the state government.
He alleged the UDF and media have joined hands in peddling propaganda against the government and the Safe Kerala project.
"There has been a concerted effort on the part of the Opposition and the media to hide the positive news about the projects that were initiated by the government as part of the 100-day action plan," Govindan said.
According to Govindan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, and the state BJP leadership have come together to spread lies about CPM.
Addressing the media, Govindan said the allegations raised by Satheesan and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala were complete nonsense: "One said there was corruption of Rs 132 crore while the other said it's a Rs 100-crore scandal. Both are total nonsense."
"Claiming that he has all the documents one said cameras that could be procured for Rs 57 crore have been sourced for over Rs 160 crore. But he has seen only the first part of the document. Had he seen the second part of the document, he would have known that the expense is for setting up control rooms and the systems to operationalise the project," the party secretary told the press.
Taking the attack to the opposition camp, Govindan went on to say that the Congress leaders were engaged in RSS-level propaganda using lies and half-truths. "There seems to be a tussle in the Opposition leaderships. While Satheesan alleges a Rs 100-crore scandal, Chennithala thinks he has to raise the figure higher to get better attention," Govindan said.
He added the project to install cameras was part of the decision to implement 136 A of the MVD Act which mandates the state government to electronically monitor the enforcement of road safety.
"That was not the unilateral decision of the state government. It was mandated following the direction of the Supreme Court and Central Government," he said.
The Opposition was trying to besmirch the name of Keltron by dragging it into an unnecessary controversy, according to Govindan.
