Saturday, August 27, 2011: Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan today lashed out at Vigilance director Desmond Netto alleging that he had tried to save Chief Minister Oommen Chandy from the Palmolein import scam in 1992.
Speaking to the reporters here on Saturday, CPM veteran said that Netto was a corrupt officer and had given a report favouring Chandy, hence he must be removed from post. VS alleged that the Vigilance director had tried to sabotage further probe into palmolein case.
Chandy was the Finance Minister during the period when Palmolein, an edible oil, was imported from Malaysia. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that the deal caused a loss of Rs. 2.32 crore to the exchequer.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau filed the chargesheet in the case in 2003 in which the then Chief Minister, the late K Karunakaran, was the prime accused.
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P J Thomas, who was the then food secretary, was accused number 8 in the case. The case gained momentum in February this year when the then Food Minister T H Mustafa, an accused in the case, in a petition said that if Chandy was exempted from the case, he too should be discharged.
No comments:
Post a Comment