Consumerfed board suspended
Thiruvananthapuram: The director board of the Consumerfed, which was in the eye of a storm following complaints of irregularities and corruption, has been suspended till the inquiry into its functioning is completed.
The decision came following a meeting between Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Cooperative Minister C.N. Balakrishnan.
Registrar of Cooperative Societies S. Lalithambika issued the order on the basis of preliminary report submitted by the Vigilance and Inspection Cell of the Cooperative Department. The office of the Ernakulam district joint registrar (general) has been given charge of the Consumerfed for the present.
The joint registrar in the office of the Cooperative Societies, P.P. Dilip Kumar, has also been entrusted to conduct a comprehensive inquiry based on the report as per section 65 of the Kerala Cooperative Act.
The office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, in a statement here, said that the director board was being suspended as its continuation would hamper the investigation.
Mr Ramesh Chennithala said that the home department had ordered a Vigilance probe into the alleged irregularities in Consumerfed. However, Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan demanded a CBI probe into the corruption.
Earlier, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran had asked the government to sack Consumerfed president Joy Thomas. Mr Thomas has welcomed the probe decision.
Former Consumerfed MD Tomin J. Thachankary, who probed the allegations, had revealed that most of the corruption was with the knowledge of the board.
A panel headed by KPCC general secretary Satheesan Pacheni had also submitted a report which put the Consumerfed president and former MD Riji G. Nair under the scanner
However, Mr Thomas rejected the report alleging that it was as per the script prepared by Mr Thachankary.