Leak of complaint submitted to CPI(M) Polit Bureau triggers political controversy

A political controversy appears to be brewing over the media leak of a “confidential complaint” purportedly submitted to the Polit Bureau (PB) of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] by a Kozhikode-based businessperson.

The controversial letter reportedly implicated a group of CPI(M) leaders, including former Ministers, in financial scams centred around a U.K.-based businessperson from Kerala.

The complaint emerged in the public domain on Sunday after the NRI businessperson adduced it as evidence in a libel suit filed by him against his rival and some sections of the media in a Delhi court.

Graft charges

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seized on the somewhat knotty controversy riddled with accusations of financial shenanigans, corruption, money laundering and nepotism in an attempt to put the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on the defensive.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan demanded a clarification from the party and the government on the veracity of the accusations raised by the Kozhikode-based businessperson. 

Mr. Satheesan said the crux of the litigation appeared to be bitter feuding between two business rivals for the patronage of powerful CPI(M) leaders. He noted financial transactions involving the next of kin of CPI(M) leaders might be at the root of the scandal. 

Nevertheless,  Mr. Satheesan stated, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan owed the public an explanation. He said the presence of the U.K.-based businessperson at the CPI(M)‘s 24th party conference in Madurai in April, and his attendance at the Kerala Loka Sabha conference added to the political intrigue.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, MLA, stated that the sensational leak was mystifying and appeared to signal that “something was rotten” in the CPI(M) ‘s State leadership. He said the scandal had the contours of official corruption with international ramifications and hidden rivalries within the CPI(M) leadership. Mr. Joseph demanded an investigation.

‘Calls for inquiry’

BJP former State president K. Surendran said the accuser had alleged in the letter that the NRI businessperson’s paper company registered in Chennai had profited from government projects. “If the accusations are true, they warranted an inquiry under the anti-money laundering and foreign exchange management laws,” he said.

The CPI(M) was yet to formally react to the BJP and Congress’s accusations.