THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Defending his daughter in the CMRL pay-off case, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the Serious Fraud Investigation Office’s (SFIO) case against Veena T smacked of political vendetta.
“The money received by her firm Exalogic Solutions from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) was not black money or under-the-table payoffs, but legal payment made through nationalised banks for services rendered. She had paid income tax and GST on the amount, and it is on record,” he said.
The matter reared its head when it was first alleged that Veena had received the money not for services provided to CMRL, Pinarayi said. “That was when the issue of whose daughter she is arose. Both the companies (Exalogic Solutions and the CMRL) have confirmed that it was remuneration for services rendered,” he said.
The contention was that the CMRL favoured Veena’s firm over others was because she was the CM’s daughter. “This is pure nonsense lacking any factual or legal basis,” he said. Certain people “are baying for my blood, but my blood is not easily drawn,” Pinarayi said.
Pinarayi also refuted charges of double standard on the position taken by the CPM on the cases against Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of late CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, and his daughter. In the case against Bineesh, there was no mention of Kodiyeri, while “this report (by SFIO) starts with mentioning that Veena is my daughter. The CPM has understood the motive behind this,” he said.