Govt depts misused to conceal corruption linked to CM's family: Mathew Kuzhalnadan

Kochi: Congress leader and Muvattupuzha MLA, Mathew Kuzhalnadan, has reiterated his accusations against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter Veena T for allegedly receiving monthly payments totalling Rs 1.72 crores from a mining corporation. 

According to Kuzhalnadan, corruption involving the Chief Minister's family is getting covered up by exploiting government departments. 

"I raised the question of whether the state received the tax on Rs 1.72 crores accepted as monthly payments. However, the Finance Department's reply only mentions tax paid by Veena Vijayan's firm Exalogic. The funds were transferred to separate accounts held by the firm and Veena. There were even separate agreements. However, the media has constructed a misleading narrative by stating that Veena paid G.S.T," he stated. 

He pointed out that there is no documentation to prove Veena paid taxes in fiscal year 2016/17. Furthermore, he said that the Finance Department has been silent on his assertion that Veena only paid Rs 25 lakh in tax when she received monthly payments in the fiscal year 2017/18. 

"As a citizen, I raised questions based on the Right to Information Act. As per the rules, the information should be furnished to the applicant within 30 days. However, that doesn't happen in this case. There is no response to the posed queries. The refusal to respond to my queries is an attempt to keep the controversy from reaching the Chief Minister," he said. 

He added that the complaint he filed before the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) against the Chief Minister is yet to make any progress. He claimed that he provided all information pertaining to the complaint and had expressed his willingness to give his statement on the matter.