THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition on Wednesday targeted the LDF Government following the arrest of M Sivasankar in the LIFE Mission scam. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala sought clarification from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the arrest. State Congress president K Sudhakaran said with loyalist Sivasankar ending up behind bars, the CM's arrest was now imminent.
The LIFE Mission scam took place during the tenure of the first Pinarayi government.Satheesan said with Sivasankar's arrest, the corruption that played out during the term of the first Pinarayi government is coming to light.
He said UDF has been repeatedly demanding a CBI probe on the slew of corruption cases including the LIFE Mission scam. Satheesan also demanded to know why Pinarayi is scared of a CBI probe if he has nothing to fear.
“A sum of Rs 9.25 crore out of Rs 20 crore received from UAE Red Crescent for building houses for the poor was used for bribing. This means, 46 per cent of the total amount went as bribes. Now the ED is probing the `1 crore bribe case involving Sivasankar. If the LDF government and the chief minister don't have anything to hide, why are they apprehensive of a CBI probe?" asked Satheesan.
Sudhakaran recalled the previous arrests of Sivasankar in the money laundering, dollar smuggling and gold smuggling cases. “Sivasankar languished in jail for 98 days in three cases. However, he was reinstated in service without any qualms by the chief minister. He penned his autobiography without seeking the permission of the state government. The government even allowed Sivasankar to retire from service and made him eligible to claim retirement benefits,” said Sudhakaran.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Chennithala said he stands vindicated. "It was during my tenure as the leader of Opposition that bribery scam came to light," the senior Congress leader said. Chennithala exuded confidence that if the probe goes further then larger sharks would also get arrested.
“No matter how deep the LIFE Mission issue is buried, the truth will eventually come out. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should come out with a clarification on Sivasankar’s arrest. It is now clear that the probe is going on against the Chief Minister’s Office. It was due to the unholy nexus between the CPM and BJP that cases were put in cold storage,” said Chennithala.
CM should quit: BJP
Thrissur: BJP state president K Surendran on Wednesday urged CM Pinarayi Vijayan to quit as CM on moral grounds, in the wake of Sivasankar's arrest. “Despite criticism, the CM tried to protect his associates and even helped derail the probe. Morally, he is not eligible to continue as CM,” Surendran told reporters at the BJP district office in Thrissur