CPM Alleges Conspiracy to Tarnish Kerala Chief Minister's Image Ahead of LS Polls

Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM in Kerala on Friday alleged that a concerted attempt is being made from certain quarters to tarnish the image of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with her daughter’s IT firm ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

At a press conference here, CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that the chief minister was being attacked in the name of his daughter Veena Vijayan’s now dormant IT firm Exalogic Solutions. The allegations against her are politically motivated.

The issue triggered major controversy recently after the preliminary inquiry carried out by Registrar of Companies (RoC) unearthed irregularities by Exalogic Solutions, a company owned by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan in its deals with Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL ).
The ROC report stated that Veena should not be condoned and action should be initiated against her for fraud under the Companies Act 2013. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had also ordered a detailed probe against Exalogic Solutions on January 12, based on the RoC report.

The RoC had submitted its findings before Veena Vijayan. However, her response was evasive, it stated.

To add to the woes of Veena, Ernakulam ROC in its report is believed to have said that it needs to be examined whether her company was a shell company. The CMRL has not given clear answers to its queries and the agreement needs to be examined in detail, it said.

Earlier, the New Delhi bench of the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board (ITISB) found that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter T Veena had allegedly received Rs 1.72 crore from a company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL.

The ITISB bench had stated that Rs 1.72 crore was allegedly paid by CMRL to Veena's company Exalogic Solutions for consultancy services that were never provided. The IT department had termed it as an illegal transaction in the guise of monthly instalments over three years 2017-20.

The ITISB bench had ruled that the money was given considering the relationship with a "prominent person". Veena and her firm Exalogic Solutions had reached an agreement with the CMRL to provide IT, marketing consultancy and software services to the latter.

However, as per the investigations carried out by the IT department, no services were reportedly provided.

The CPM had maintained that the allegations of payments to the chief minister's daughter as monthly instalments were baseless. "It was a legal service agreement between two legitimate companies and the money was paid on an annual basis as per the norms of the agreement. This was described as a monthly quota to make the allegations look credible.

The CPM said the KSIDC-CMRL agreement took place during the period 1991-96. However, now there is an attempt to create a smokescreen to level baseless allegations against the chief minister. Earlier also massive propaganda was unleashed against the chief minister and his family in connection with the gold smuggling case.

There were reports that even the Congress leaders had accepted money from the company so shouldn’t there be a probe against them as well ? it asked.

LDF convenor E P Jayarajan rejected the ROC report against Veena Vijayan's company Exalogic Solutions. He defended the chief minister’s daughter saying that what his party had stated about the company were only facts.

Do you mean to say that everything the ROC says has to be true? he asked. “How long have you been haunting a woman who is an expert in the IT sector and chose to start a venture? Won't you let her live? a visibly upset Jayarajan sought to know from the media.

He said it is womanhood that's being attacked. The ROC report is not a court ruling. How will the ROC write about the Chief Minister? he asked and alleged that certain people were trying to ruin the life of a poor girl.

Opposition leader V D Satheeshan accused the BJP and CPM of entering into a pact to settle cases ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Despite the RoC unearthing serious irregularities in the deal between Exalogic Solutions and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd , the Centre has not initiated a probe by Enforcement Directorate (ID) or the CBI.
He alleged that union minister and senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan was acting as a mediator between the BJP and CPM government to settle the cases.

The Congress has sought a court-monitored probe into the findings of RoC. The allegations are grave since offences of receiving money using fake documents and without providing services have been committed under sections 447 and 448 of the Companies Act.