Kerala PSC bribery row: Amid criticism, CPM to expel Kozhikode youth leader from party

Kozhikode: Amidst criticism over Kerala PSC bribery charges against a CPM youth leader in Kozhikode, the party on Saturday decided to oust him in a damage control move. The action is against Pramod Kottooli, a member of the Kozhikode Town Area Committee. The move targets Pramod Kottooli, a member of the Kozhikode Town Area Committee, who will lose his primary party membership as a consequence. Additionally, he will be removed from all elected positions. Allegations of real estate benami connections are cited as the grounds for this action.

Earlier today, meetings of the Kozhikode district secretariat and committee were convened, with the committee's session ongoing. Sources indicate that the state committee has expressed dissatisfaction with the district committee's delayed response to the allegations against the leader.

Reports suggest that a deal involving a payment of Rs 60 lakh was negotiated, of which Rs 22 lakh had already been transacted. The alleged misconduct came to light during a clandestine investigation conducted by the party's state leadership.

The promise was to grant PSC membership to a person from the health sector. The person was assured that approval from the party leadership would be secured through Minister Mohammed Riyas. However, when the CPM decided on the PSC members, none of the assurances made by the Kozhikode youth leader were considered. Later, the person who paid the money was kept convinced with the promise of a high position in the Ayush department. This too failed to materialise, leading to the leak of the bribery allegations and resulting in a complaint reaching the party.

Earlier, when the media reported the matter, the party had refuted the allegations. CPM Kerala State Secretary M.V. Govindan then stated that the party would not act on media reports concerning the PSC corruption scandal but would conduct an investigation if any wrongdoing was found.

Responding to the controversy, one of the CPM chieftains and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had denied the allegations, saying, “PSC is an exemplary recruiting agency in the country. So far there has been no outside interference in it. The appointment of the chairman and members is done with the approval of the Governor on the recommendation of the Cabinet. It is unfortunate that such accusations defame such a constitutional institution. Apart from the news that appeared in the media, no irregularity has been noticed regarding the appointment of PSC members.”