Medical college scam: BJP leader admits to taking Rs 25 lakh fees'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: P. K. Krishnadas, former BJP state president is in trouble following the revelation that he was instrumental in taking back Mr R. S. Vinod, the controversial BJP co-operative cell convener, into the party. Mr Vinod was suspended from the party during the tenure of  Mr P. S. Sreedharan Pillai in  2004.   Mr  Vinod also deposed before the Vigilance on Saturday that he had accepted Rs 25 lakh as consultancy fees in the medical college scam.

The central leadership has reportedly sought explanations from BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, Mr Krishnadas and also general secretary M. T. Ramesh about the re-entry of Mr Vinod into the BJP. However, they refused to make any comments about the central action. Mr  Vinod was expelled from the party in 2004 along with  BJP leaders J. R. Padmakumar and P. Raghunathan for six months.  They  automatically returned to the party after the suspension period, said a BJP leader.

“They were suspended  for leaking the internal issues related to the Thiruvananthapuram by-election years ago. It was during Thiruvananthapuram district president V. Sivankutty’s tenure in 2006 that  Vinod was officially brought back,”  he said. Mr Vinod was not holding any posts in the party till the last three years. Later, following high-level pressure he  was appointed as chairman of the co-operative cell.

Mr  Vinod told the Vigilance on Saturday  that he had taken  Rs 25 lakh as consultancy fees from Varkala S.R. College chairman R. Shaji for securing recognition. “The money was handed over to Delhi-based middleman Satish Nair, with whom I had no prior acquaintance. I came into contact with him through Rajesh, an investor in my Venad cooperative bank. The money was taken in five instalments of Rs 5 lakh each  ahead of the annual inspection of medical colleges by the Medical Council of India,” he told reporters.

“I have not made any monetary gain through  it.  No BJP leader has any role in this,” he said. However, the two-member BJP team probing the medical scam, vice-president K. P. Sreesan and state secretary A. M. Nazeer, told the Vigilance  that they needed more time to depose before it. They  had earlier declined to appear before the probe team, but changed their mind owing to the legal advice  that it will be wise to depose before the Vigilance. Otherwise,  the rival  fronts will take it up politically.