Pinarayi cloud on clean-up drive

Even as the CPM is embarking on a clean-up process in the party through a rectification campaign, one of its politburo members and Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan appeared before a special CBI court in Kochi on Wednesday in connection with a corruption case.

Even as the CPM is embarking on a clean-up process in the party through a rectification campaign, one of its politburo members and Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan appeared before a special CBI court in Kochi on Wednesday in connection with a corruption case.

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Vijayan, an accused in the Rs 374-crore scam in a deal with Canadian power firm SNC Lavalin when he was the power minister in Kerala, is the first top CPM leader to be charged in a corruption case.

This development has caused worry in the party as it has come at a time when the party is in the process of a rectification process aimed, among other things, at getting rid of corruption.

But the CPM has been maintaining that the case against Vijayan is “politically-motivated”.

Vijayan has moved a bail application before CBI judge K.P. Jyothindranath, which was granted. The bail condition included a bond of Rs. 2,00,000 besides two sureties.

Vijayan is accused of wrongfully awarding a contract to the Canadian company for renovating three power plants when he was
the state power minister in 1997.

The CBI had issued summons to six former officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Canada-based SNC Lavalin, Claus Trendl and former vice-president of SNC Lavalin besides Vijayan to appear before the court here on September 24.

But Vijayan failed to appear on that day citing health reasons and the matter was posted for hearing for Wednesday. On September 24, five of the six KSEB officials had appeared before the court and were given bail.