In a post in X, Rjeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday questioned why Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan borrowed money at a higher interest rate from abroad through Masala Bonds, when low-interest loans were available in India.
File Photo: IANS
Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday challenged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, raising pointed questions over the financial decisions linked to the Masala Bond issued by the Kerala Infrastructure and Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)in 2019.
In a post in X, Rjeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday questioned why Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan borrowed money at a higher interest rate from abroad through Masala Bonds, when low-interest loans were available in India.
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He alleged that Rs 21 crore was paid as commission to an intermediary and asked who that was. He also questioned whether the required permission under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was sought.
Stating that that these were “relevant questions”, he said if the Kerala government was “honest”, it should have answered them by now. He also contended that all other states in the country raise money from within India through bonds.
“Here are questions that CM @PinarayiVijayan must answer about the “Masala Bond” Kerala borrowed Rs 2,100 crore abroad at 9.5% interest when cheaper options were available in India.
Lets be clear – this is a liability that hangs over heads of every Malayalee who deserve answers.And then quietly paid Rs 21 crore as “commission.”
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Every other state raises bonds within India – no commission, no foreign middlemen, no secrecy,”
Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in X on Tuesday
Chandrasekhar alleged that the CPM will try to trivialise this issue as well, just like they did the loss of gold from Sabarimala, but it will not be permitted.
Alleging that the left party is using the “hard-earned taxes” of Malayalees as theCPM’s party fund, he said that just like the Sabarimala alleged gold loot, this too has to be investigated thoroughly.
Chandrasekhar’s post comes a day after Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials revealed that the agency has issued a Rs 466-crore FEMA show cause notice to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, former finance minister Thomas Issac, and the CM’s chief principal secretary K M Abraham in the KIIFB Masala Bond case.
Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday said the Congress does not trust the show cause notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the KIIFB Masala Bond case, calling the central agency’s move “fraudulent”.
He said the masala bond issued through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) involved gross corruption and must be investigated thoroughly.
Chennithala said the latest show cause notice was part of the “undercurrents” between the CPM and BJP.
“The ED will send a notice during election time. After the election, there won’t be any follow-up. This is a tactic by the BJP to help the CPM ,” he alleged.
He also alleged that a Canadian company, identified as a major investor in the KIIFB masala bond, had close links with SNC-Lavalin. CM Vijayan had earlier faced allegations of corruption in awarding a contract to Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin, when he served as power minister in 1996.
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