Former Kerala Director General of Police(DGP) and BJP leader Jacob Thomas has raised concern over Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan hosting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman a breakfast meeting at Kerala House in Delhi on March 12.
Speaking to a Malayalam news channel on Tuesday, he said there is a mystery behind Pinarayi Vijayan’s meeting with Sitharaman. He linked the meeting to the ongoing Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe against the chief minister’s daughter Veena Vijayan in the financial dealings between the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) CMRL and Exalogic Solutions, a company operated by her.
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He said there is some impropriety in the chief minister hosting a breakfast meeting with the Union minister who is in charge of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, while an SFIO probe is ongoing against his daughter Veena Vijayan. He said SFIO works under the Corporate Affairs Ministry
The former IPS officer alleged that Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar was strategically included in the discussion by the chief minister. He further said that the matter would be reported to the BJP’s national leadership.
In this connection, Sangh Parivar fellow traveler Dr. Bhargava Ram said in a social media post that the meeting between the CM and Union finance minister took place at a time when the SFIO is about to initiate prosecution proceedings against the Chief Minister’s daughter and the finance ministry itself is facing criticism for delaying the SFIO preedings in the matter. It is to be noted that the meeting took place not at the office of the finance minister. In an unprecedented move, the union finance minister was meeting the chief Minister by going at his place, Bharava Ram added.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala questioned the confidentiality maintained about the meeting. “Even before the meeting, Union ministers and senior officials had met Kerala chief ministers. But all of that was official,” Chennithala said in the Assembly on Monday.
“This was but an unofficial meeting according to a PRD release,” Chennithala said, holding out a copy of the press release issued by the state Public Relations Department. “What was the unofficial discussion that you held with the union finance and corporate affairs minister,” he asked.
“Can anyone fault us if we say that the Governor has offered himself as the bridge in this deal,” he added.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan denied in the Assembly that Governor Rajendra Arlekar acted as a “bridge” for the chief minister’s recent breakfast meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi.
He told the Assembly that it was purely a “friendly conversation” on general issues facing the state. He clarified that the governor participated in the meeting on his request and said that the Opposition was trying to make a big issue out of it.
