KOZHIKODE: The BJP has asked the state government to constitute an all-party monitoring committee or a judicial monitoring committee to undertake a social audit of the money flowing into the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund to prevent ‘misuse’ of funds meant for flood relief. Speaking to reporters here, BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai said alleged misuse of the funds allocated as part of the Kuttanad package, and also the relief funds for the 2004 tsunami disaster and the recent Ockhi cyclone, has prompted the BJP to demand such an audit.
Sreedharan Pillai alleged that more than Rs 2,000 crore allocated as part of the Kuttanad package in 2008 was diverted for other purposes or misused. He alleged that the then LDF government and the successive UDF Government were equally culpable for the irregularities. Pillai said the BJP would launch an agitation against the misuse of the funds allocated for the Kuttanad package.
The BJP state president alleged that out of the Rs 211.9 crore that the state received for rehabilitation of tsunami victims, only Rs 36.25 crore was properly audited. Only a social audit would expose the irregularities, he added.Sreedharan Pillai said the Chief Minister has not officially handed over charge to any minister in the cabinet before going for treatment abroad.
This would lead to a constitutional crisis as there would be no one to exercise the Chief Minister’s discretionary powers during times of emergency. Calling it a serious lapse, Pillai wondered whether discretionary powers can be used by the Chief Minister through e-mails from abroad.
“When the state is faced with serious issues, why was no other minister in the cabinet deputed to take decisions in emergency situations. What was the hindrance? Is the CPM or LDF going through some big internal strife? Does it mean there is nobody who can be handed charge of Chief Minister with confidence?,” Pillai asked. He added that the BJP’s core committee would meet on September 6 in Ernakulam to discuss flood rehabilitation-related issues.
Request Army’s assistance
He said it would take at least a month for the water to be flushed out of flooded areas in Kuttanad. He asked the government to ‘shed its false pride’ and hand over the task of flushing out flood water to the Army. “The Army has the equipment and the expertise to flush out water from flooded areas. They will accomplish the task in two days,” he added.