By IANS,
Kochi : Sarojini Balanandan, wife of late Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader E. Balanandan, Sunday said she doesn’t know about the letter her husband had written in 2005 on a multi-million scam in Kerala involving party state secretary Pinarayi Ranjan. The reaction from Sarojini about the controversial letter, which was published in a section of the media, comes a day after the CPI-M Saturday denied the reports that Balanandan, who passed away last month, had written to party general secretary Prakash Karat about discrepancies in the contract awarded to Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin by Vijayan when he was Kerala electricity minister in 1996.
“I heard the clarification given by Prakash (Karat) and I believe him,” Sarojini told reporters here. She is also a state committee member of the CPI-M.
According to the published letter, Balanandan had informed Karat that the party had “lost face” by inking the contract with the SNC-Lavalin.
“Ultimately, our state and country had incurred huge loss and damage (through this contract). Our party’s face is also lost,” said the letter, dated July 8, 2005.
Meanwhile, Vijayan Sunday lashed out at the media for publishing the letter.
“The media syndicate which was lying dormant has again come to life. This could be seen from the same news about the so called letter by Balanandan. This is the handiwork of a few who have been ousted from our party.”
The ruling CPI-M in Kerala is in crisis after Vijayan was accused in the multi-million rupee scam by the Central Bureau of Investigation for wrongly awarding contracts to renovate two hydro-power projects to SNC-Lavalin 12 years ago.