By IANS
Kozhikode : Dissatisfied with a vigilance inquiry into the controversial land purchase by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Congress party Saturday demanded either a judicial or a CBI probe.
“We reiterate that only a judicial or a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe will reveal the truth into the mysterious role of ISRO in this land scam,” state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala told reporters here.
The Congress has been saying that a mere vigilance probe, which Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan announced Monday, into the matter would not suffice.
The land purchase by the Indian space agency for a space education institute was mired in controversy after the opposition alleged that the land bought from high-profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew in fact belonged to the state forest department.
ISRO purchased 82 acres of land in Ponmudi, 75 km from here, from Mathew in March. The opposition also alleges that the land, which belongs to the forest department, was sold in connivance with Forest Minister Binoy Viswom who belongs to the Communist Party of India (CPI).
Both Achuthanandan and state Law Minister M. Vijayakumar had earlier said that ISRO approached the government for land through a casual letter to Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran in December last year.
The Congress led opposition maintains that ISRO officials had pressured revenue officials to issue a report that no government land was available.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has allowed ISRO to implead in a public interest litigation asking the court to intervene to determine the facts in the land scam. The case is to come up for hearing early next month.
On its part, the state government has already suspended a top forest department official, transferred two officials and ordered an inquiry into the role of five others in the deal.
This is the second time that ISRO has been involved in a scam – in the mid 90s a top ISRO scientist was implicated in a non-existent spy scandal, which led to then chief minister K. Karunakaran losing his chair.
The Congress claims the government is against a judicial or CBI probe because the CPI is involved in the deal. “Achuthanandan is under chains by the CPI and … (therefore) he is unwilling for a judicial or CBI probe. But under no circumstances will we settle for a vigilance probe,” Chennithala said.