Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the real culprit in the monthly wage case against his daughter Veena Vijayan, Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan charged on Tuesday.
The Congress legislator told presspersons at Thiruvananthapuram, “Veena Vijayan just received monthly payments from CMRL, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the real culprit.” Kuzhalnadan charged the mining company CMRL has been making monthly payments to Veena since 2016. Kuzhalandan charged that CM Vijayan intervened for granting permissions to CMRL for black soil mining.
The Congress legislator charged for three years from 2016, Rs 8 lakh was credited every month into Veena’s bank account. Kuzhalnadan charged that the Pinarayi Vijayan government amended the state’s industrial policy for CMRL.
A controversy erupted in Kerala recently over some financial transactions between the Kochi-based private minerals company and CM Vijayan's daughter Veena and her IT firm. Evidence also cropped up that purportedly showed the company had dealings with top leaders of both the ruling CPI(M) as well as the opposition Congress-led UDF.
The issue came to the fore after a Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama reported that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd paid Rs 1.72 crore to the CM's daughter between 2017 and 2020. The news report, citing the recent ruling of an Interim Board for Settlement, said the Kochi-based company previously had an agreement with Veena's IT firm for consultancy and software support services.
Despite the fact that no service was rendered by her firm, the amount was paid on a monthly basis "due to her relationship with a prominent person", the report had claimed, citing the deposition of the minerals company authorities before the Income Tax Department. However, Vijayan rubbished the charges and said the allegations were made to tarnish his image and defame him.
