Comrades can’t shield Vijayan now

NEW DELHI: CPM was thrown off the moral high horse on Sunday when Kerala governor R S Gavai gave sanction to prosecute its polit bureau member and secretary of the Kerala state unit Pinarayi Vijayan in the Rs 374 crore SNC Lavalin scandal.

The governor, who rejected the CPM-controlled state government���s advise not to prosecute Mr Vijayan, gave the nod for the trial of the CPM leader. CPM, the self-appointed arbiters of public morality who otherwise cheer tough actions against the corrupt, continued to insist that Mr Vijayan has done nothing wrong and that he has been framed by ���a tool of a vindictive Centre���.

Party leaders in Delhi as well as Kerala ��� of course, with the exception of chief minister V S Achuthanandan ��� were united in detecting the ���Congress��� hand��� in the decision to prosecute Mr Vijayan. ���Generally the governor goes by the advise of the government. But, here he has gone against the advise of the cabinet as well as the advocate general. We will fight the case politically and legally,��� CPM polit bureau member M K Pandhe said. In an attempt to drive home his party���s political point, Mr Pandhe claimed that this case was similar to that of the Taj corridor case.

ET had on June 4 reported that the governor will give the go ahead to the CBI. The governor, who has been consulting legal experts for the past one month, was of the view that his office should not come in the way of uncovering the scandal. This will be the first time that a polit bureau member will face prosecution in a multi-crore scam.

Three months ago, the CPM���s Kerala unit, dominated by Mr Vijayan���s men, had its way in getting the state government to advise the governor against giving sanction for prosecution, despite the chief minister wanting the party secretary to face prosecution.

Mr Vijayan has been charged with abuse of his position as electricity minister in the Lavalin case in 1997. The CBI charged Mr Vijayan with colluding with the other accused to swing a sweetheart deal for the Canadian firm bypassing norms laid down by the government of India and central electricity authority. The CBI progress report had said it led to the loss of around Rs 86 crore.

The CPM leader is the ninth among the 11 accused in the report on the deal awarded to the company to renovate and modernise three power projects in Kerala���s Idukki district. The CBI had sought the governor���s permission to file a chargesheet as it concerned senior government officials.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India had found irregularities in the contract with SNC Lavalin of Canada for renovation and modernisation of the Pallivassal, Chengulam and Panniyar hydro-electric projects in Idukki district. Mr Vijayan had played the lead role in reworking the deal signed between KSEB and SNC Lavalin.

He had led a high-level official team to Montreal to revise the contract. The consultancy contract was expanded to include a supply contract for procuring equipment. While the consultancy fee remained unaltered, the government committed an additional Rs 149.15 crore for buying equipment.

The Kerala government team had also negotiated a sub-deal with the company. Lavalin committed itself to mobilise Rs 98.3 crore for a party controlled cancer hospital in north Kerala. But the company paid only Rs 9 crore to the hospital. CAG reported that the entire Rs 374.50 crore spent on the renewal projects went down the drain as the company did not complete the renewal process.

The Lavalin scam is now being counted by a section within CPM as well as its allies such as CPI as one of the reasons for the LDF���s debacle in the state. Mr Vijayan���s rivals had been trying to drive home the point that a tainted state secretary could harm CPM���s poll prospects in the Lok Sabha elections.