Medical college scam: Damocles' Sword over BJP leaders
The state BJP leadership initially had taken the Vigilance investigation lightly and said they would co-operate with the probe.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The medical college scam is hanging like a Damocles’ sword over the heads of several BJP leaders in the state. The vigilance probe into the affair may tighten the noose round the necks of many of them since the central leadership may not spare anyone who is chargesheeted in the FIR. The state BJP leadership initially had taken the Vigilance investigation lightly and said they would co-operate with the probe. But later they received a legal advice that the Vigilance report may indict them. R. Shaji, chairman of S. R. Medical College and Research centre, who is the complainant, and R. S. Vinod, former convener of BJP’s co-operative cell, have deposed before the vigilance department’s special investigation- II unit headed by K. Jayakumar.
It may be recalled that P. Kannadas, private secretary of Richard Hay, Rajya Sabha MP, had helped Shaji based on a memorandum submitted to the MP seeking recognition from the Medical Council of India. In his testimony before the BJP’s commission, Vinod had said that Rakesh Sivaraman who acted as the private secretary to BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, and Kannadas had demanded Rs 15 lakh each.
The BJP's internal commission led by party vice-president K. P. Sreesan and state secretary A. K. Nazeer's report revealed that Shaji had given a bribe of Rs 5.6 crore to Vinod. Accordingly, Kummanam expelled Vinod from the party a day after the medical college scam snowballed into a major controversy. Vinod who deposed before the Vigilance special investigation-II unit had stated that he had accepted the money as part of his consultancy business and that the BJP does not have any role in it.