Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) The political row over Chief Minister and ministers travelling in private aircraft, using luxury cars belonging to friends and accepting tickets arranged by diaspora organisations and individals has taken a sharper turn, with CPI state Secretary Binoy Viswam accusing Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan of becoming a puppet of the ultra-rich.
The attack came after Satheesan defended his use of privately arranged travel, saying there was no reason to reject an aircraft offered by a friend when it could help him reach a disaster-hit area quickly.
“I have used it, and I will use it again,” Satheesan said, referring to the chartered aircraft he took to rain-hit Malappuram after a landslip claimed six lives.
He said Chief Ministers across the country had used private aircraft.
On ministers travelling abroad on tickets arranged by diaspora organisations and individuals, Satheesan said he had encouraged ministers to see developments in other countries and identify opportunities that could benefit Kerala.
He said the UAE alone had around 1,000 organisations of Keralites and that the return of a UDF government after a decade had prompted such organisations to invite ministers and arrange their travel.
But the CPI leader questioned the principle behind accepting such benefits.
“The V.D. Satheesan government has become a puppet in the hands of ultra-rich people whose identities cannot be revealed," Viswam said, alleging that the Chief Minister's aircraft and helicopter were being sponsored by such unidentified economic interests.
He also targeted ministers using luxury cars belonging to wealthy friends instead of government vehicles.
Responding to the argument that privately sponsored travel saves public money, he said citizens had the right to know whether ministers travelling abroad had complied with all statutory requirements.
The CPI leader also mocked the government's justification that accepting such facilities was intended to save money, describing it as the UDF's trademark.
Satheesan, meanwhile, defended Local Self Government Minister K.M. Shaji's use of a friend's Range Rover, saying the minister's official vehicle was around a decade old and frequently broke down.
The Chief Minister also highlighted his government's efforts to contain expenditure, saying ministers were continuing to use old official vehicles rather than purchasing new ones.
The emerging political clash, however, goes beyond aircraft and cars.
At its heart is a question over the boundaries between private generosity and public office and whether benefits offered by individuals or organisations to those in power can remain free of expectations.
The CPI leader has now sought responses from Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal, asking what they have to say about Satheesan government's practices.
Source: IANS
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