THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance decision to drop the investigation against former minister E P Jayarajan evoked strong criticism from the main Opposition UDF, with Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC interim chief M M Hassan leading the chorus.Chennithala termed the Vigilance decision to absolve E P Jayarajan of nepotism charges ‘political corruption’. “The government has whitewashed Jayarajan using the Vigilance wing now. This has come after he was found guilty of the charges levelled against him by the CPM and Jayarajan himself had admitted to wrongdoing at the party secretariat before stepping down as Industries Minister. The Vigilance wing has become a toy in the hands of the Chief Minister,’’ he said.
‘’It is clear by now the disinclination (on the government’s part) to appoint a full-time director for the Vigilance - DGP Loknath Behera is holding additional charge of Vigilance chief - is intended to sabotage many cases,’’ he said in a statement.Hassan was equally scathing in his criticism of the government over the bid to bail out Jayarajan.“Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has saved Jayarajan using all the administrative mechanism at his disposal. Jayarajan’s case was the first test dose for the Pinarayi Government which had come to power vowing to usher in a ‘corruption-free Kerala.”
“It should be noted here the then Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas was shown the door to save Jayarajan and the fellow accused in the case. The government ‘s campaign against corruption is mere windowdressing. The LDF has swallowed its poll promises which is revealed through its stance on various corruption charges, liquor policy and environment protection.”