#Ajayan

Kochi | The Karuvannur Co-operative Bank scam that might see arrests of a few CPM leaders, the uncovering of a middleman’s involvement in the sexual harassment allegations against the late Ooommen Chandy, the ignominious defeat at the Puthupally by-election, the disclosure from the Income-Tax Settlement Board report of undue payments by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd not just to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter but also a significant sum to him and a few politicians in the Opposition UDF, things appear to have shifted the tide against the CPM.

A prolonged period of silence, recently broken by Pinarayi, has left even staunch party supporters aghast as the situation has become increasingly convoluted. The narrative of the “Centre haunting the CPM” appears to have lost its edge. The Karuvannur scam of over Rs 300 crore, primarily affecting ordinary depositors, many of who are party loyalists, was initially brought up before the party leadership as far back as 2011 and no action was ever taken.

Finally, when the depositors found their hard-earned money vanish into thin air and the bank had to come under lock, the government initiated a Crime Branch probe. Asked about it, the CM told the media that the investigation was ongoing, but refrained from explaining why an FIR had not been registered even after two years of inquiry.

The Enforcement Directorate had to step in due to illegal money transactions after the demonetization. That explains the series of raids conducted at different cooperative banks and even houses of some businessmen who incidentally have close nexus with some of the CPM leaders. Former Minister and CPM State leader AC Moideen is apprehensive of arrest as is former MP PK Biju who headed a party commission of inquiry, that curiously omitted the names of those who are currently under ED scrutiny.

Even members of LDF partner CPI, who served on the Karuvannur bank board, have openly expressed disapproval of the CPM’s actions. If party insiders are to be believed, Karuvannur represents just the tip of the iceberg as significant money has allegedly gone into dubious transactions, a fact substantiated by ED’s acknowledgement of receiving incriminating documents.

However, the CM’s response was limited to asserting that the BJP-led Centre, through the ED, was trying to target the CPM and dismantle the co-operative movement that the party painstakingly cultivated over the years.

On the issue of CMRL payments made to him and his daughter for services not provided, he skillfully evaded a direct response, instead stating that he and his family were being targeted for quite some time. The findings of the settlement board were founded on documents unearthed during raids and corroborated by the company chief financial officer.

The documents indicated payments of around Rs 130 crore to various politicians and others for the smooth functioning of the company which has been going on fine over the years.  Notably, the initials of several politicians were explicitly expanded and included that of Pinarayi Vijayan, suggesting the receipt of substantial amounts. The CFO also attested to payments being made to an IT firm which never rendered any services, as it was owned by the daughter of a ‘prominent’ politician.

The CM tried to downplay the matter with a dismissive tone and made an irrelevant assertion that he had never ever met the CFO. Moreover, he pointed out that the money paid to his daughter and her firm was through the bank and Income-Tax returns had been duly filed. It is noteworthy that the very recent solar scam involving Inkel featured a situation where a general manager was accused of receiving around Rs 5 crore as bribe and done through bank transaction. However, the official was suspended immediately.

The continued withholding of the firm’s GST and IGST receipts from public scrutiny, despite party leaders proclaiming their intent to disclose this information, continues to remain an enigma.

Besides, those who issued the order were not simply officials or a Centre-backed team, as suggested by the CM, but judges who meticulously examined the documents and quizzed company officials before arriving at their conclusion.

The concern here is that the Chief Minister and his party were elected with a resounding majority. The trust placed in him and his team should not be undermined in any way. The public does not wish to see their leader’s reputation being sullied and he should take the course of law to demonstrate to his constituents that he is “not guilty”.

His effort should also be to bring to book all whose names have been found in the board order as some of them have already admitted to receiving money from the company as party donation.