By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : A Rs. 10 million corruption case involving former Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader K. Venugopal rocked the Kerala Assembly Wednesday.
Angry opposition members trooped out of the house after the Speaker disallowed an adjournment motion on the issue.
Venugopal used to be a senior official of the CPI-M mouthpiece Deshabhimani. But he was expelled from the party last week, following allegations that he had taken a bribe of Rs. 10 million in a case involving a private financial institution.
Police had shut down the fledgling financial firm last year. Venugopal allegedly told the executives of the firm that he would get the business reopened in return for Rs. 10 million.
But with time running out, the institution approached top CPI-M leaders for help. That was when an inquiry was held, and the party decided to expel Venugopal.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front raised this issue in the assembly and called for an adjournment motion. But Speaker K. Radhakrishnan said that the issue could only be raised as a submission because it did not have any relation to governance.
This left the opposition bench furious and opposition leader Oommen Chandy tried in vain to seek an adjournment motion. Chandy said that this was not just an allegation but also a clear-cut case of corruption that had the blessings of the top brass of the CPI-M.
"It is now clear that others were involved in the corruption case as Venugopal collected the money to influence those in the party who have the power to write the case off. The home department or the police has not even registered a case," said Chandy.
"Why are you so afraid if this is discussed if there has been no involvement of CPI-M party members in power, Chandy asked.
Following this speech, Chandy led the entire opposition out of the house.
Media reports indicate that the expulsion of Venugopal is connected to the ongoing feud within the CPII-M Kerala unit, between chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan and state-unit secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan. According to the reports, Venugopal is a close associate of Vijayan.