Opposition UDF accuses Kerala CM, state govt of corruption in AI camera, K-FON projects; Vijayan denies allegations

The Congress-led UDF opposition on Monday accused the ruling LDF government and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of corruption with regard to the artificial intelligence camera and K-FON projects as well as the financial transactions of his daughter and her IT firm.

The accusations were made by the opposition during discussions in the state assembly on the supplementary demands for grants in the budget for the financial year 2023-24.

Denying the allegations, Vijayan said there was no corruption in implementation of the artificial intelligence (AI) camera and K-FON projects and that the companies were selected to carry out the work through a proper tendering process.

Regarding the allegations about the financial transactions between his daughter's firm and a private company, he said that findings in the order of the Interim Settlement Board on that aspect were not based on any investigation.

A Malayalam daily had recently reported that Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd paid a total of Rs 1.72 crore to the CM's daughter between 2017 and 2020. The news report, citing the recent ruling of an Interim Board for Settlement, said that the Kochi-based company previously had an agreement with Veena's IT firm for consultancy and software support services, but the payment was made despite no services being rendered.

Vijayan said that the remuneration received by his daughter's firm was based on a contract with CMRL, and that the mandatory taxes were paid in respect of those transactions. Everything was disclosed in the tax returns, he said.

''So there is no issue of there being any black money being received,'' he argued, refuting the allegations of corruption made against him and his family by Congress MLA from Muvattupuzha Mathew Kuzhalnadan.

Moreover, neither his daughter nor her firm were given an opportunity to explain their side before the order was passed, he said, adding that it was therefore not a matter requiring any action from the state government.

Kuzhalnadan also alleged that the ruling CPI(M) has fallen to a level where it was acting as the guard for the actions of the CM's daughter and her private firm -- accusations that caused a furore in the House.

Besides Kuzhalnadan, Congress MLAs Roji M John and P C Vishnunadh alleged that there was corruption in the implementation of the K-FON project and claimed that it had resulted in a loss of around Rs 500 crore to the state exchequer.

Vishnunadh also alleged that there was corruption in the implementation of the AI camera road safety project.

Both the CM and State Industries Minister P Rajeev said that the AI camera project has proved beneficial for the state as they have brought down the number of road accidents, resultant deaths and also traffic violations.

Rajeev also said that the allegations regarding the AI camera project were being examined by the Kerala High Court, which will decide whether there was any corruption in that.

On the K-FON project, the CM said that the tendering process was carried out in accordance with the law.

He also said that the government would not incur any financial liability in connection with the project as its operating and maintenance costs would be met out of its business operations.

With regard to the equipment and cables used in the K-FON project, the CM said that all those materials were cleared by a technical committee which was constituted to ensure that good quality items were used.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)