Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muralidharan questioned Kerala chief minister and state PWD Minister Mohammed Riyas over their silence on the findings of the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board (ITISB) a scam involving Veena Vijayan.
The ITISB revealed that the CM’s daughter received Rs 1.72 crore from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd. (CMRL) for consultancy service that was never provided.
Speaking to media persons in Kollam, Muralidharan said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Mohammed Riyas, who is son-in-law of the CM, have not yet responded to the ‘ masappadi'( monthly payment) received by Veena Vijayan.
“While the CM is maintaining a studied silence, his son-in-law is hiding in a burrow for three days now. The minister, who used to respond to all issues and happenings in the country, is now keeping silent over the allegations that his father-in-law and wife Veena Vijayan received pay-offs from a company,” Muralidharan said.
Muralidharan said Minister Mohammed Riyas has not yet explained as to why he had not included the money received by his wife in the election affidavit. It has been reported that neither income tax returns filed by Veena Vijayan nor the affidavit submitted by her husband to the Election Commission has a mention of the money received from the CMRL.
Meanwhile, BJP Kerala president K Surendran asked why the parties in the INDIA front-(CPI-M-led LDF and Congress -led UDF) put up separate candidates for the Puthuppally bypoll.
Stating that these parties associated with the INDIA front have the same stance on all matters related to the Uniform Civil Code, on receiving ‘ masappadi’ and on opposing BJP, Surendran asked why they cannot field a single candidate from the Puthuppally constituency.