THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Additional chief secretary Tom Jose raised objection over the decision of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case against him in connection with magnesium purchase for Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited. In a statement issued here on Sunday, Mr. Jose said that the FIR against him in this connection showed a total ignorance of purchase procedures and tender system of public sector companies. He also said that the said purchase was made after his brief tenure as KMML managing director ended.
“The decision for global tender was made in good faith by a group of professionals to get high quality magnesium at competitive prices. “In the intervening months between the advertisements and purchase orders, the price of magnesium went up due to supply-demand situations and exchange rate differences. “Questioning a business decision made in good faith, attaching malafide intentions and interpreting a perceived loss as corruption is stretching the law too far to harm people and reputations,” Mr Jose said in the statement.
“I left KMML before the purchase decision in question was made. My successor (Michael Vetha Siromoni) and his team could have decided to retender if they had found the lowest bid to be unreasonable. In my opinion, my successor’s decision to accept the lowest bid was based on the then prevailing market conditions,” he added.
