Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 17 State BJP president K.Surendran on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former State Power Minister M.M.Mani after Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)chairman alleged major irregularities in the company during the previous government.
Surendran likened Vijayan to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mani to RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav.
"Vijayan is silent and so was Singh when massive corruption took place under him during the UPA regime. Mani is like Lalu, who is become a permanent figure in the jail on account of the fodder scam corruption cases," said Surendran.
The row started after the KSEB chairman B. Ashok recently alleged irregularities in the electricity board through his facebook post.
Soon, the Congress and Leader of Opposition in state Assembly V.D. Satheesan alleged that the KSEB is being run as a CPI(M) party unit and has been indulging in massive corrupt deals. Hundreds of acres of KSEB land has been given on lease to pro-CPI(M) outfits in the name of hydel tourism, he stated.
Mani, Surendran alleged, has made investments outside India with the money raised through corrupt KSEB deals during the first Vijayan government, when he was the State Power Minister.
On Wednesday, Mani had stated that the corrupt deals took place during the Congress rule in the state and that his tenure can be termed as "golden period" of the KSEB.
Among other allegations figure power purchase agreements being inked without the knowledge of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, causing an annual loss to the tune of Rs 600 crore.
Similarly, there have been complaints that the salary revision at the KSEB failed to get the necessary approvals.
The principal opposition parties are up in arms as the KSEB is all set to hike up electricity tariffs in the state leading to a heavy burden on the people as the accumulated loss of the board has reached a staggering figure of over Rs 10,000 crore.
While Satheesan sought a complete probe into the matter besides Vijayan to break his silence, Surendran said Vijayan is behaving like Manmohan Singh who was always silent when corruption reigned supreme.
With the Budget session of the Assembly beginning on Friday, the opposition is all set to to corner the Vijayan government on the issue.
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