Thiruvananthapuram / New Delhi: Asserting that "crime never dies," Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala defended his decision on Tuesday to order a vigilance investigation into alleged corruption linked to a 20-year-old road project. The project dates back to 2006, when current Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar served as the state's Public Works Department (PWD) secretary.

The probe focuses on alleged financial irregularities during the execution of the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP)—a ₹215 crore World Bank-funded initiative to reconstruct MC Road from Angamaly to Thiruvananthapuram. The contract was awarded to PATI-BEL, a joint venture between a Malaysian firm and Bhageeratha Engineering. The project engineer, Lee See Been, raised several complaints during construction before returning to Malaysia, where he subsequently died by suicide.

Addressing reporters in New Delhi, Chennithala emphasised that the passage of two decades does not absolve past wrongdoing.

"The vigilance is carrying out an extensive investigation, and it will soon reach a conclusion," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Demands for CEC's resignation

Connecting the probe to ongoing political friction with the Election Commission, Chennithala accused Kumar of oversight in the deletion of crores of voters from electoral rolls and demanded his immediate resignation. Currently in New Delhi to lead demonstrations against the CEC, Chennithala characterised the opposition's agitation as "a second freedom movement."

He criticised the Election Commission for ignoring public grievances regarding deleted voters while noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have remained silent on the issue.

"The CEC is the one behind all this, and therefore, his resignation is necessary," Chennithala said.

"Voting is their right. The removal of crores of voters from the electoral rolls is a move to sabotage democracy," he contended.

Political retorts & EVM debates

Responding to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's call for the resignation of V D Satheesan over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, Chennithala suggested Sarma should "lead by example."

"Let him resign first, and then we shall see," he said.

Addressing electoral integrity, the minister claimed that if elections were held in Keralam today, the BJP would lose its three existing seats. He further advocated for a return to paper ballots, aligning with global trends.

"Only seven countries in the world use electronic voting machines," Chennithala said.

Clarifying his stand on the SIR process, Chennithala noted that while he never justified the revision itself, he had pointed out its potential to eliminate duplicate and bogus voter entries. Reaffirming India's democratic foundations, he added that the country's citizens had fought hard for their independence and that India was not a banana republic. (PTI)