Responding to senior CPI-M leader AK Balan’s challenge whether he would be ready to withdraw the allegationsbagainst Chief Minister’s daughter, if it is proved that Veena. and her company had paid IGST, Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan on Monday said that he will tender an apology to Veena if his allegations of tax evasion against her are proved wrong.
Kuzhalnadan on Saturday alleged that Veena Vijayan did not pay the tax on Rs 1.72 crore received from CMRL. If tax has been paid, its records should be released, he said.
Denouncing this allegation, senior CPI-M leader AK Balan on Sunday asked whether Mathew Kuzhalnadan would be ready to withdraw the allegations levelled against Veena and her company and tender an apology and end his public life if it is proved that Veena and her company had paid IGST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax).
Accepting Balan’s challenge, Kuzhalnadan on Monday said that he will he be ready to retract the allegations and apologize if proved that Veena had paid IGST.
“I will be ready to retract the allegations and apologize, if proved that Veena had paid the IGST. My question is what will Balan do,if Veena fails to prove that she cleared the tax payment.Veena should release the documents related to the IGST payment for Rs 1.72 crore. I’m giving 24 hours for CPI-M to prove Veena’s innocence,” Kuzhalnadan said while addressing the media in Kochi.
The CPI-M secretariat said the transaction is transparent. The records of payment of IGST on the money received from Kartha’s mining company, with the invoice on that date should be released,Kuzhalnadan said. If it turns out that Veena has not paid IGST, will the CPI-M accept that the Chief Minister’s daughter Veena received monthly pay-off from the mining company, Kuzhalnadan asked.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that ‘Veena service tax’ exists in Kerala. He said that commission should be given to Pinarayi Vijayan’s family to start projects in Kerala.
In this connection, a group of prominent cultural and social activists in a statement urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to temporarily relinquish his position until his name is cleared regarding the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board’s recent ruling pertaining to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).
“The findings and reference to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter and Exalogic company owner Veena Thaikandi in the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board’s judgment against CMRL will shock democratic Kerala. Never before has there been such an allegation against a Chief Minister of the state by any institution of a judicial nature. It is not just an allegation, but the board’s verdict, based on the documents seized during the income tax raid,” the statement says.
They sought an appropriate inquiry into the allegations under the supervision of the High Court. The statement is signed by respected figures including writer CV Balakrishnan, B Rajeevan, MN Karassery, Kalpatta Narayanan, Appukuttan Vallikunnu, Savithri Lakshmanan, K C Umesh Babu, V S Anilkumar, CR Neelakandan, Deepak Narayanan, Joseph C Mathew, and others.