KANNUR/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a development that could prove to be a headache for the CPM, senior party leader P Jayarajan has reportedly levelled graft charges against LDF convener E P Jayarajan, accusing him of illegally acquiring property for an ayurveda resort in Kannur.
The allegation was raised at the recently-concluded state committee meet in which EP was not present.
At the state committee, P Jayarajan pointed at financial irregularities in connection with the resort and its links with EP’s family.
Sources said state secretary M V Govindan has asked P Jayarajan to give the allegation in writing. It’s reliably learnt that P Jayarajan plans to proceed with the charges.
If he files a written complaint, the secretariat may set up an inquiry commission to look into it. EP being a central committee member, clearance from the party’s top forum is needed in this regard.
On Saturday, after reports came out, P Jayarajan, however, said inner party discussions regarding aberrations by party workers are quite natural. “I don’t want to tell the media about the discussions in the committee. Inner party struggles for correcting mistakes are quite natural in the party. It will be a continuous process,” P Jayarajan told the media.
He further said the party committee is no place for personal allegations. “EP is a senior leader, one who was brutally attacked by party’s rivals. I have not noticed the functioning of the ayurveda resort under E P Jayarajan,” he said.
‘Resort was built after levelling 10 acres of a hill’
Despite repeated questions on whether he had raised any allegations against EP, P Jayarajan refused to either deny or confirm the same. The resort in question is located at Vellikkeel near Morazha, which is a CPM stronghold. Incidentally, Morazha is also the native place of Govindan. His wife P K Syamala was the chairperson of the Anthur municipality, under which Morazha is located.
P Jayarajan, at the state committee, said after he raised the allegation in 2019, some changes were made in the resort’s director board. Pointing out that there are serious charges against the resort, P Jayarajan said the allegations were raised with authenticity. He further alleged that the resort was built after levelling 10 acres of a hill.
Right from the beginning, the resort’s construction was entangled in controversies as the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) and environmentalists had protested against the demolition of the hill. EP’s son P K Jaison is the chairman of the resort. Ramesh Kumar, a close associate of CPM leaders, is its managing director.
The construction began with the name Kannur Ayurvedic Medical Care Pvt Ltd, which was functioning at Aroli near EP’s house. EP’s wife P K Indira is also a director board member of the resort.
When the hill was demolished, the KSSP lodged a complaint with the district collector demanding an environmental impact study. Although the Kannur collector directed the geology department to conduct an environmental impact study, nothing happened thereafter.
At the time of construction, the mining and geology department -- which is responsible to stop illegal hill destruction -- was under then minister E P Jayarajan. It was alleged that the Anthur municipality had also given clearance for the resort.