Kochi (Kerala), Apr 19 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Sunday alleged that the state government inaugurated a township for the 2024 landslide victims in Wayanad to “mislead” people.
Nearly two years after the devastating Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide, the Kerala government developed the Wayanad Model Township at Elton Estate and handed over houses to 178 families at an event inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on March 1 this year.
Speaking to reporters here, Satheesan was responding to recent reports about cracks and leaks in the houses built for the landslide victims and the visit of Revenue Minister K Rajan to assess the situation.
He said the minister is not an expert to examine construction issues and that such assessments should be carried out by engineers.
According to him, the houses are not yet fit for habitation.
He said the CPI(M) leaders had raised allegations over a housing project for landslide victims by the Congress.
“The allegation against us is that we could not begin our housing project even after laying the foundation stone. Nobody is living in the houses inaugurated by the Chief Minister as they are not ready. So, the inauguration was done to deceive people before the elections,” he said.
Satheesan further alleged that the houses were inaugurated without the work being completed and that the project received wide publicity during the election period.
He demanded that the Chief Minister and the government answer to the public.
On the probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the Sabarimala gold loss case, Satheesan said the investigation would not lead anywhere.
He claimed that courts had denied bail to the accused, considering the gravity of the case, but the SIT, allegedly under pressure from the Chief Minister’s Office, did not file a preliminary chargesheet, leading to the accused obtaining statutory bail.
“All the accused have been released from jail. Now there may not be any evidence left in the case,” he alleged.
He also alleged that the ED would not conduct a proper investigation in cases linked to the LDF government.
“ED had issued a summons to the Chief Minister’s son. What happened to that? Will they investigate the Sabarimala case?” he asked.
Referring to the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank case, Satheesan said the ED had earlier initiated a probe into alleged loan misappropriation involving CPI(M) leaders.
“After that, CPI(M) leaders helped the BJP candidate win the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Thrissur. Since then, no investigation has taken place. ED investigations are only a show during election periods,” he alleged.
He further said that CPI(M) leaders had misled the public and that the truth would come out soon. PTI TBA TBA ROH
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