THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On the day the LDF government announced a preliminary level vigilance probe on the Life Mission, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has stepped down from the role of special invitee in the Life Mission Task Force.
Talking to reporters at Cantonment House here on Wednesday, Chennithala said he has written a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informing him about this, adding that the details on the MoU between the Life Mission and the Emirates Red Crescent were not released even after more than 45 days. He demanded a CBI probe to bring out the intricacies behind the deal.
He said that since the Rs 20 crore project has international connections, the vigilance probe will be insufficient. Chennithala informed that he had spoken to the Home Secretary T K Jose to know about the veracity of initiating a vigilance probe into the Life Mission, before deciding to call it quits from the post of special invitee. By ordering a vigilance probe, it has become clear that not all has been well in the project, said Chennithala.
The Life Mission which has been a dream project of the LDF government saw Swapna Suresh, the key accused in the gold smuggling case, walking away with Rs 9 crore commission which saw the investigating agencies seizing Rs 1 crore from her bank locker, he said.
“It is more than 45 days since the controversy on the Life Mission arose and still the Chief Minister is keeping mum. It is clear from the way in which Pinarayi Vijayan has been evading the questions of the media that there is something fishy. The Opposition will not cooperate with the vigilance probe,” said Chennithala.
He also claimed that the Opposition's allegation on the e-mobility scheme was true as the LDF government has withdrawn PricewaterHouseCoopers from the consultancy deal. Chennithala said PwC has been removed from the Rs 4000 crore project on the grounds that they had not given the report within one month.
A day after 20 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state, Chennithala said it is unfortunate that the LDF government has been blaming the Opposition for the spurt in the number of cases. Instead, Chennithala blamed Pinarayi for targeting the Opposition without any reason.
He also urged the LDF government not to go ahead with the salary challenge. “Pinarayi and finance minister Thomas Isaac should withdraw their decision on the salary challenge and instead take the Opposition into confidence in demanding the pending installments of the GST. Also, a Covid relief package should be demanded from the Centre. The Opposition has no qualms in joining for a common cause to help the state which would only alleviate the burden from the government employees facing a cash crunch,” added Chennithala.