Thiruvananthapuram: SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan has softened his stand towards the CPM for the last few weeks. If he was critical of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan earlier, now it is seen that he is cosying up to the left. A top SNDP Yogam source told DC that the current vigilance case would come as a boomerang to Vellapally for his unaccounted money which he takes for appointments in 16 colleges under SN Trust across the State.
Vellapally has been named first accused in the FIR registered in the case related to the Rs 15 crore microfinance fraud filed by former Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan. Though it was earlier decided by the SNDP Yogam to hold a protest march against the LDF Government’s move, it was called off later for fear of backlash from the Ezhava community itself. It is reliably learnt that SNDP Yogam leaders were apprehensive of showing their strength of power, but cast aspersions on how to sustain it for long.
“If we hold a strong protest against the LDF Government’s move to include Vellapally as an accused, the Ezhava community as a whole will not be able to sustain the protest. Despite Vellapally sending few intermediaries to Mr Vijayan, it has not been of much help,” said an SNDP Yogam leader.
But over the last few weeks, Mr Natesan's body language has been weak despite his claim that he is not directly involved in the microfinance fraud, which his son and Bharat Dharma Jana Sena president Tushar Vellappally too has been reiterating. When former DGP T. P. Senkumar was removed from his post, Mr Natesan had defended CM’s action. But never a word of support to Mr Senkumar though the two were close.
“He gets close to Rs 30 lakh from each appointment. So Mr Natesan has invested that unaccounted money in microfinance scheme and is in return getting its interest. Also, a lion's share of the interest is going to his pocket which will come out in the open once the vigilance enquiry is completed,” said a top SNDP Yogam source. SNDP Yogam leaders are keenly observing the developments, and they vouch that his feelings are evident as he fears something worse to happen. But at the same time, the Yogam leaders are confident that he would come out unscathed with his money power.
