Ramesh slams Pinarayi Vijayan over nepotism charges

KOCHI: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala came down heavily on the government and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan over a host of issues ranging from the nepotism row to Sabarimala controversy and the Sanal Kumar murder case.

Chennithala claimed that the government, embroiled in corruption, was protecting minister KT Jaleel, who came under fire for appointing his kin (KT Adeeb) as general manager of Kerala state minority development finance corporation.

"Why is CM silent on the nepotism row? Why is government not ready to expel Jaleel despite serious allegation. The CPM state secretary is asking the complainant to approach the court with evidence. This attitude is a challenge to the public in a democracy. The minister says he invited his relative for the job; are posts to be donated to relatives?" alleged Chennithala, adding that no university in Kerala has approved the PG diploma in business analytics, the qualification acquired by Adeeb.

He asked Vijayan to order a probe against Jaleel. "Jaleel is facing half-a-dozen corruption charges. He is being protected by CM. All ministers can now appoint their relatives in government posts following the reinstatement of industries minister E P Jayarajan, who was once forced to resign on nepotism charges," alleged Chennithala. He criticized the police for the delay in arresting deputy SP Harikumar. "The state government handed over the case to crime branch to sabotage it. Usually, a case is handed over when local police fail to identify the accused. In this case, the accused has been identified. The case should be handed over to CBI," added Chennithala.

The opposition leader alleged that government was trying to weaken the pilgrim season in Sabarimala by insisting on vehicle pass.

Chennithala alleged that government did not have the courage to arrest BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai over his controversial speech in Kozhikode.