In a setback to Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government on the eve of the crucial Assembly election, a Vigilance court in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district on Wednesday ordered a quick verification by Vigilance against Congress’ Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash in a land scam involving controversial godman Santhosh Madhavan.
The court directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to complete the quick verification and submit a report within 15 days. The order for the quick probe came on a petition filed by one Gireesh Babu of Kalamassery near Kochi seeking inquiry against six persons including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
However, the court rejected the plea for quick verification against the Chief Minister saying that no evidences existed at this stage to justify a probe against him. It said that the petitioner’s plea to include the Chief Minister in the ambit of the probe could be considered if any evidence came up during the course of the inquiry.
The court’s order is to hold quick verification against five persons including Prakash. The others are Vishwas Mehta, Principal Secretary, Department of Revenue, godman Santhosh Madhavan and two officials of the godman’s IT company, RMZ Eco World Infrastructure limited.
As per the court’s order, the VACB will examine whether any irregularity had been committed in the return of 127 acres of land, which had earlier been acquired by the Government as surplus land, to the company of the godman recently. The court also said that the quick verification should be carried out under an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police.
The directive came a week after the Government withdrew under pressure from within the ruling Congress party and the Opposition an order issued earlier by the Cabinet allotting 127 acres of land with vast stretches of paddy fields in the name of an IT project. The Cabinet had taken the decision just before the Election Commission announced the Assembly poll’s schedule.
Prakash’s department had been drawing flak for the past few weeks over the controversial orders relating to backwater-based paddy fields and plantation and forest lands the Cabinet had issued after passing them as out-of-agenda items. There have been allegations that the Revenue Minister could not have got such orders passed and issued without the connivance of the Chief Minister.
The Muvattupuzha court’s order against Adoor Prakash came at a time when a fierce battle was on in the Congress over the issue of fielding him as well as some others, who were facing serious corruption allegations and who had contested in four elections, in the coming Assembly election.
While the State Congress president VM Sudheeran wanted Adoor Prakash and 4 other leaders to be denied tickets as per these criteria, CM Chandy is firm that they should be allowed to contest. Till late Wednesday evening, the Congress’s election screening committee meet in Delhi had not been able to come to a decision on the matter.
Sudheeran also wanted three loyalists of Chandy - Excise Minister K Babu, accused of taking Rs 10-crore bribe from bar owners, Benny Behennan who had been in regular contact with con woman Saritha S Nair and Culture Minister KC Joseph who had been MlA since 1982 - to be denied tickets on the basis of the proposed criteria.
Adoor Prakash welcomed the court order for quick verification saying that it would help him to get out of the shadow of the allegation of corruption. He also said that he was extremely disturbed by the discussions in the party over his candidature, adding that the voters of his constituency, Konni, knew him well.