Kochi | Former state finance minister and senior CPI(M) leader T M Thomas Isaac on Monday said that Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan's allegations about Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena T and her company engaging in "political funding" are baseless.
Referring to the Congress leader's remarks that Veena's company had not paid IGST fully, Isaac claimed that Kuzhalnadan's efforts were aimed at diverting attention from his own alleged wrongdoings, including the amassing of disproportionate wealth.
Kuzhalnadan had recently raised allegations against Chief Minister Vijayan and Veena, labelling the financial transactions of her IT company "political funding". He asked whether Veena's IT firm Exalogic Solutions Private Limited had paid the IGST for the amount her company received from private mineral company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.
He was referring to a recent news report that said that CMRL had made “illegal payments” of Rs 1.72 crore to Veena under the pretext of services rendered, but that her company had not provided any software solutions in exchange for the amount.
In a Facebook post, Isaac said both companies (Veena's company and the private mineral company) are legal entities with GST registration, and the payment was made through bank accounts.
"Now Kuzhalnadan is claiming that Veena's company has not fully paid the IGST. So it means he is agreeing to the fact that the amount paid by the private company to Veena's company was for the services rendered," Isaac said.
He asked whether the Congress MLA would apologise if it is proved that the company did pay the IGST.
Earlier, senior CPI(M) leader A K Balan had also asked Kuzhalnadan whether he was ready to apologise and quit his political life if it is proved that Veena's company did pay the tax.
Meanwhile, Kuzhalnadan reiterated on Monday that -- as per his understanding -- Veena's company had not paid the IGST in full.
"If her company can prove that they have filed the IGST and show the invoice, I am ready to apologise to Veena and the society," Kuzhalnadan said.
Isaac alleged that Kuzhalnadan's accusations against the Chief Minister's daughter were a bid to cover up the allegations against him over various issues.
"He is accused of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The resort at Chinnakanal, which he acquired, is functioning in an illegal manner. There are also allegations of his not paying the full tax for the land he purchased," Isaac said.
On August 19, the Congress MLA had sought an explanation from the ruling CPI(M) about the financial transactions between private mineral company CMRL and Veena's IT firm Exalogic Solutions.
Following his allegations against the CM's daughter, Kuzhalnadan has faced pushback from left-wing organisations.
The All India Lawyers Union (AILU) recently filed a complaint against Kuzhalnadan, who is also a lawyer, for "professional misconduct", alleging that he owns a business -- which is a violation of the Advocates Act.
The CPI(M) has alleged that the Congress MLA bought land in Chinnakanal area to build a resort, claiming that he was a resident of that area and did not have any other residence in the state. But Kuzhalnadan owns several other properties, including a flat in the state, the Left Party claimed.
Besides, the CPI(M) also contended that the Congress MLA was not running a guest house in Chinnakanal, but a resort, which was not permitted there under the law.
Last week, while denying the allegations of money laundering and stamp duty evasion against him, Kuzhalnadan had said he was ready to face a probe by any agency and disclose all his financial documents, including those of his law firm, for investigation.
Evidence has cropped up that shows that Veena's company had dealings with top leaders of both the ruling CPI(M) as well as the opposition Congress-led UDF.
The issue came to the fore after a Malayalam daily recently reported that Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd paid a total of Rs 1.72 crore to the CM's daughter between 2017 and 2020.
The news report, citing the recent ruling of an interim board for settlement, said that the Kochi-based company previously had an agreement with Veena's IT firm for consultancy and software support services.
Despite the fact that no service was rendered by her firm, the amount was paid on a monthly basis "due to her relationship with a prominent person", the report said, citing the deposition of the minerals company authorities before the Income Tax Department.
