By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The opposition Congress Tuesday walked out of the Kerala assembly over the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) purchasing 82 acres of forest land to set up a space education institute.
The trouble began when senior Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan sought leave for an adjournment motion and sought a discussion into the deal – ISRO purchased the land in Ponmudi, 75 km from here, from high profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew.
The Congress alleges that the land belongs to the forest department of the government.
“This is one of the biggest land scams that Kerala has seen. How can anyone sell government-owned forest land, part of which is ecologically fragile, to ISRO,” said leader of opposition and former chief minister Oommen Chandy.
He said that Forest Minister Benoy Viswam and Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan had met Mathew on May 16 to finalise the sale.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan intervened to say he was still looking into the issue and had called a meeting with officials and the ISRO team to decide on what needed to be done.
But Chandy was not to be mollified.
“You never keep to your word. For the past few months, you have been talking about a land mafia in the state and today you are shielding a minister who is part of the corrupt deal. We demand a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigations) probe,” Chandy said before walking out.
Mathew, who also dabbles in filmmaking, is said to be well connected. The sons of Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Education Minister M.A. Baby recently acted in a movie produced by him.