CM must remove Abraham if he is not quitting: Cong

Kochi: A day after CBI registered a case against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's chief principal secretary KM Abraham in a disproportionate assets case, Opposition leader VD Satheesan demanded on Sunday that the bureaucrat resign from the post or the CM remove him. Satheesan told reporters in Kochi that the Kerala high court found evidence that Abraham amassed wealth beyond his known sources of income.

Vigilance, led by the chief minister, tried to exonerate him, according to the high court order, Satheesan alleged. That is why the CBI was asked to investigate, he said. It is a disgrace to the state that Abraham continues as the CM's chief principal secretary. Is the CM afraid to remove Abraham because he was a witness in the SNC Lavalin case, Satheesan asked.

Abraham mentioned in a letter to Vijayan that he possessed the call data records of ten thousand seconds of important people, Satheesan said. Abraham admitted to illegally tapping phones. Is phone tapping the job of the chief minister's principal secretary? Ramakrishna Hegde resigned over phone tapping, Satheesan said.

"The state govt is in a situation where it cannot pay anyone, including cooking workers. Yet, it is spending over hundred crores of rupees to celebrate its anniversary. The debt, which was Rs 1.67 lakh crore in 2016, increased to Rs 6 lakh crore in 10 years. There are no medicines in hospitals, no provisions in Supplyco. Payment is not being made for paddy procurement. Social security pensions have stopped. ASHAs are on strike," Satheesan alleged. Backdoor appointments are happening in the state at an unprecedented rate, he said. Although there are vacancies, appointments are not being made from the PSC rank list, Satheesan said.

The chief minister's daughter now says she didn't tell the SFIO that she received money without providing services, Satheesan said. However, those associated with the CMRL company have testified that Veena Vijayan received money without providing any service, he added. Unlike the National Herald case (against the Gandhis), the case against the chief minister's daughter is not politically motivated. The investigation is based on evidence related to a case that came up in income tax, Satheesan said. "Pinarayi Vijayan is organizing breakfast-lunch-dinner events to strengthen alliance with BJP. It's unclear why governors withdrew from the dinner," Satheesan said. "On the day the Nilambur byelection is announced, the UDF candidate will also be announced," he added.