Kannur (Kerala) | Leader of the Opposition in the assembly V D Satheesan on Tuesday said that his plea seeking a CBI probe into the KFON project was in the public interest and not for publicity purposes.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP), at a press conference here, said that if he wanted publicity all he had to do was to approach the media.

He was responding to reporters' queries with regard to the court's observation a day ago whether his plea was in public or publicity interest.

On being asked by reporters as to the delay in filing the plea as the project was set in motion in 2019, Satheesan said that the KFON scheme was yet to be completely implemented in the state.

He claimed that only 5 per cent of the 20 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme got free internet connection as part of the project.

At the same time, the cost of the project increased by 50 per cent from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,500 crore, he claimed.

"This is public money. It is tax payers' money. So, should the opposition keep quiet and smile while the public money is wasted? Therefore, questioning such a project is in the public interest.

"We initially raised the issue in the assembly, then held protests highlighting the matter and as the government failed to take action despite all that, we, as a last resort, decided to move the court. We had to wait to obtain documents and records, including a draft CAG report, in connection with the project and then we filed the petition," the LoP said, justifying his decision to move the court now.