Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM in Kerala has alleged that the probe initiated by the ministry of corporate affairs against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter is a politically motivated move.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that it was yet another instance of the BJP government at the centre misusing central agencies against non-BJP ruling states. He also said that the CPM had no fears over the probe. Moreover, the party has no role in the Chief Minister's daughter's firm, he said.
The probe was initiated as the payment of Rs1.7 crore was made by Kochi-based controversial mining firm Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited to Exalogic Solutions run by the Chief Minister's daughter Veena Vijayan, which was pointed out by the Income Tax interim settlement board earlier.
A three member team has been formed and a four month deadline has been prescribed to complete the probe that was ordered on the basis of the findings of a preliminary inquiry. Kerala government agency Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) could also come under probe.
The allegations of payments by the mining firm had earlier triggered a major row in Kerala. Vijayan and CPM were claiming that those were legal payments as per business deals. But Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan had raised many questions, which are still unanswered.
Veena is also the wife of Kerala tourism and public works minister Mohammed Riyas.