THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While opposition leader V S Achuthanandan and KPCC president V M Sudheeran called for an independent probe into corruption charges against former industries minister Elamaram Kareem, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the state unit of the party would examine the charges and come to a conclusion.
“The state unit is mature enough to conduct such an exercise,” Yechury said. Home minister Ramesh Chennithala said that the Vigilance would register a case if there was anything cognisable in the confessional of Malabar Cements former managing director M Sundaramurthy.
Sudheeran said that the CBI had not properly investigated the deaths of Malabar Cements employee Saseendran and his children.
Achuthanandan, who was not satisfied with an internal probe into the murder of T P Chandrasekharan, but did not waste time to demand an official probe into the charges.
Sundaramurthy had given a confessional under section 164 of CrPC in which he said that he suspected that Elamaram Kareem had accepted money from controversial businessman V M Radhkarishnan.
Mr Sundaramurthy said that he had handed over a packet given to him by a close associate of Radhakrishnan to Elamaram Kareem when he was minister. “Probe should be conducted against any person charged with corruption. Even if it is against V S Achuthanandan, an investigation has to be ordered,” the opposition leader said.
Since Kareem is identified with the Pinarayi faction, Achuthanandan, who had just been snubbed by the party for his diatribe against the former CPM leadership, is expected to milk the issue to the hilt.
At his satirical best on Tuesday, he asked: “If there is a statement against Kareem, is it not natural to order a probe.” He drew parallels to the cases taken against ministers K M Mani and K Babu in the bar bribe scam. If a case could be registered against them, he seemed to suggest that such a procedure could be initiated against Kareem too.
