M A Baby defends Kerala CM's daughter in 'illegal payment' scandal, says she did nothing wrong

Thiruvananthapuram | M A Baby, the newly elected General Secretary of the ruling CPI(M), on Monday strongly defended Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter T Veena, who has been named by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in an "illegal payment" case recently.

The senior leader asserted that the CM's daughter had not done anything wrong and it was very evident while examining the facts with regard to the case.

The case was fabricated against Veena just because she is the daughter of CM Vijayan who is the "head" of the CPI(M) and the party-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala, he said.

Baby was speaking to a television channel a day after he was elected as the new General Secretary of the Left party.

"To attack the CPI(M) and the LDF in Kerala, they have to hit at its head....and its head is Pinarayi Vijayan," he said.

As there is nothing to target CM Vijayan, attempts are being made to target him by attacking his daughter by fabricating a case against her, Baby said.

The perpetrators hope that this blow will finally hit the Left veteran, he added.

The worst form of an anti-democratic approach is seen in the case and its investigation, the leader alleged.

The CPI(M) general secretary charged that a tribunal under the union finance ministry had deliberately remarked that Veena is the daughter of a prominent political leader in Kerala and said all the issues began there.

When asked about the reports of prosecution procedures initiated against the CM's daughter, he said everybody knows that how the central agencies are functioning in the country.

Baby also sought to know from the critics what illegal benefits had been received by the Kochi-based private mining company from the Kerala government in the name of entering into an agreement with Veena's IT solutions company.

Veena Vijayan

The new General Secretary of the CPI(M) extended strong support to the CM and his daughter at a time when the opposition Congress and BJP were demanding the resignation of Vijayan following reports that Veena has been named by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in an "illegal payment" scandal.

Media reports claimed that the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs has granted approval for prosecution proceedings against her.

Neither the Chief Minister nor Veena has reacted to the reports claiming that the investigation found she received Rs 2.70 crore from a private mining company without providing any services.