Left govt nod for preliminary vigilance probe into Idukki land deal of Cong MLA Kuzhalnadan

The ruling Left government in Kerala gave permission for a preliminary probe by the vigilance bureau into the alleged illegalities in the sale

Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling Left government in Kerala on Wednesday gave permission for a preliminary probe by the vigilance bureau into the alleged illegalities in the sale and registration of land by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan in Chinnakanal area of Idukki district in the state.

The government gave permission to the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau of the police to initiate a preliminary probe into the sale and registration of the 1.14 acre land and the structures on it.

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It said the permission was being given in accordance with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988 and directed that the enquiry report be submitted to the government in a time bound manner.

In response to the government decision, Kuzhalnadan, in a Facebook post, said there was no change in his position and that any investigation was welcome.

“The government can investigate as much as it wants. Will give a detailed response tomorrow,” he said.

The accusations of money laundering and tax evasion against him in connection with the land deal came in the wake of him dragging Public Works Minister P A Mohamed Riyas into a row over some financial transactions by his wife Veena, asking why he had not disclosed its details in his election affidavit if the dealings were transparent and legal.

Denying the allegations, the Congress MLA from Muvattupuzha had earlier also said that he was ready to face a probe by any agency or even the Left party.

He had denied the charges that he was using his law firm for laundering money and said he was willing to disclose all his financial documents, including the firm’s, for investigation.

While laying himself open to any probe, Kuzhalnadan had shot back at the ruling CPI(M) asking whether it was ready to take the same stand with regard to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena and her company.

A controversy had erupted in Kerala recently over some financial transactions between a private minerals company and Chief Minister Vijayan’s daughter T Veena and her IT firm.

Evidence has also cropped up that showed that the company had dealings with top leaders of both the ruling CPI(M) as well as the opposition Congress-led UDF.

The issue came to the fore after a Malayalam daily recently reported that Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd paid a total of Rs 1.72 crore to the CM’s daughter between 2017 and 2020.

Despite the fact that no service was rendered by her firm, the amount was paid on a monthly basis due to her relationship with a “prominent person”, the news report said, citing the deposition of the minerals company authorities before the Income Tax Department.

Vijayan on Tuesday, responding to the questions on the recent allegations against his daughter Veena, claimed that a section of the media has been trying to pull him down for long.

He accused a section of the media of only parroting the version of the central agency and unsuccessfully trying to substantiate their point of view.

The CM also said that none of the factors that came out in the report against his daughter were hidden from any accounts and accused a section of the media of only propagating that.