CPM to return ‘tainted’ fund

The CPM state committee decided to return the Rs 2 crore it had accepted from controversial lottery king Santeago Martin, reports Ramesh Babu.

The CPM state committee on Saturday decided to return the Rs 2 crore it had accepted from controversial lottery king Santeago Martin for developmental activities of the party mouthpiece Desabhimani.

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As a face-saving step in the wake of the raging controversy, the party state committee issued a statement saying the amount the party organ accepted in four bonds of Rs 50 lakh would be returned to the contributor immediately. The party state secretariat would also examine how it happened, it said. Admitting for the first time that it received the amount from a controversial businessman, the brief statement said the amount was accepted as an advertisement advance. Involved in many financial irregularities, the inter-state lottery king is on the run now.

It has also advised party cadres to explain the “true situation” to the people. The other day, Desabhimani general manager E P Jayarajan, party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s close aide, did a flip-flop claiming it was not a bond but a mere contribution towards the party organ.