THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday justified the Sprinklr deal saying the government was forced to take some special steps because of the extraordinary situation related to COVID-19 spread. While replying to a question on the alleged procedural lapses, the CM said that “several rightful things” were not happening in the state and the country owing to the pandemic spread.
“Haven’t we postponed several things? Have we curtailed the freedom to worship ever before? This is a peculiar situation and hence there are some peculiar steps,” he said. The CM said he did not know why IT Secretary M Sivasankar visited CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran’s office. On whether it was for explaining the Sprinklr issue, he said, “You ask him about it. I did not enquire.” Pinarayi said he did not find anything unusual with Kanam’s meeting with CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
“There is nothing to wonder. They use to meet often. They have to discuss several things,” he said. On the Opposition’s allegation that the CM was portraying himself as a ‘martyr’, he spoke elaborately and was a bit emotional. He recalled the several allegations raised against him in the past to prove a point that he was indeed a victim of false propaganda. One was a fake campaign that a foreign company named ‘Kamala International’ was owned by his wife, Kamala. Later, someone uploaded the picture of a mansion claiming it be the CM’s house on social media. The CM said his children too weren’t spared either. “It was news when my daughter joined Mata Amritanandamayi’s college in Coimbatore.
But not when she got her first job at Oracle. Maybe because they cannot claim that it was out of my influence. There were stories about my son and his education,” he said. On the SNC-Lavalin corruption case, he said it was cooked up by his opponents. The Vigilance had reported that there was no evidence for corruption. Later, the then Cabinet decided to entrust the CBI with the probe. There were efforts to make false evidence. But the court, after a detailed examination, found the case had no standing.