Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan has once again come out against the Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, over the issue of “masappadi” (monthly pay-off) paid to his daughter, Veena Vijayan, by the mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.
Speaking to reporters in Kochi, on Thursday, Kuzhalnadan repeated the allegations against the chief minister’s daughter in the masapadi controversy. He said neither Exa Logic company nor Veena Vijayan had provided any services to CMRL. Yet Veen’s company, Exa Logic, has received money from CMRL.
Kuzhalandan asked whether the CMRL had paid money to Veena’s company without providing any service to them as alms. “If it is said, the money was paid to Veena’s company as alms, no further question on it,” Kuzhalnadan said.
Kuzhalnadan said a CMRL official’s diary had a reference to a person called PV. “I’m sure, ‘PV’ is ‘Pinarayi Vijayan’,” he said. Then he went on to challenge the CM to prove that the “PV” in the CMRL official’s diary is not of his but is the name of someone else. “I will resign as MLA if the chief minister proves that the ‘PV ‘in the CMRL official’s diary is not of his, but the name of someone else,” he said.
Recently, Vijayan denied the statement in the report that he, among some other politicians, received money from the CMRL. The report said the acronym “PV” in the CMRL’s accounts referred to Pinarayi Vijayan.
“There could be multiple individuals represented by the acronym ‘PV’. I cannot provide any commentary on the assumptions made by the officers appointed by the Union government. I want to clarify that I have not received any funds from them,” Vijayan had said then.
Kuzhalnadan launched a scathing attack against Vijayan and his daughter in August, after it was reported that the Income Tax Interim Board of Settlement (ITIBS), New Delhi, has found that the CM’s daughter Veena Vijayan’s company has received Rs 1.72 crore from CMRL without providing any service to them. It has also been reported that the ITIBS also named Vijayan, and UDF leaders Ramesh Chennithala, PK Kunhalikutty, and VK Ebrahimkunju among those who received “payment” from the CMRL.
Kuzhalnadan also denounced the LDF government’s decision to order a vigilance probe against his land deal in Idukki’s Chinnakanal. However, he said he would cooperate with any kind of probe into the alleged irregularities in the deal.