Pinarayi Vijayan attacks CM Satheesan, claims conspiracy in power purchase deal

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 6
Nearly six months after stepping down as Chief Minister following a decade in power, CPI(M) veteran Pinarayi Vijayan has turned the heat on his successor V.D. Satheesan, making the controversial power purchase arrangements the latest flashpoint between the two leaders.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Vijayan alleged that the government was trying to create an artificial power crisis to facilitate corruption.

He said the prevailing weather conditions did not warrant any shortage, yet the Chief Minister was projecting the power sector as being in crisis.

The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly questioned why Satheesan was rejecting the position taken by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Electricity Minister on the power purchase arrangements.

"The stand taken by the Chief Minister is contrary to that of both the Electricity Board and the Minister. Doesn't this raise the suspicion that something unusual is happening behind the scenes?" he asked.

Vijayan said routine decisions in the power sector were primarily the responsibility of the Electricity Board.

He questioned why the Chief Minister was directly intervening, bypassing the Electricity Department, the Minister and the Board.

He said the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet appeared to have broken down.

"If there were shortcomings in the Board's position, the government could have pointed them out and corrected them. But no such discussion or intervention took place. Why is the Chief Minister taking a unilateral decision and assuming full responsibility?" he asked.

He also alleged that CM Satheesan had failed to give a convincing reply to the corruption charges.

Questioning the involvement of General Network Access (GNA), Vijayan said it was not a power-generating company but only a digital over-the-counter platform.

"Whose electricity is GNA supplying? Which company is actually generating the power? Who are the middlemen involved?" he asked.

He alleged that neither a tender nor any other transparent procedure had been followed in the proposed purchase and demanded to know who had exerted pressure to buy electricity without tendering.

Vijayan said KSEB had conducted a detailed study and warned that the arrangement would cause financial losses to the Board.

If the government believed the study was flawed, it could have pointed out shortcomings instead of rejecting the report outright, he said.

He also disputed CM Satheesan's claim that no official letter had been sent by KSEB, saying the communication was already in the public domain.

Describing former KSEB chairman and IAS officer V. Rajamanikyam as a capable official, Vijayan alleged that he had been transferred for pointing out irregularities and refusing to fall in line.

He further claimed that Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph had recorded a note in the official file favouring the purchase of power from Himachal Pradesh.