Kerala orders a fresh vigilance probe into CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s time as state PWD secretary

Kerala’s Congress-led government has ordered a vigilance inquiry into allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar dating from his time as the state’s Public Works Department secretary. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced the decision on Sunday, 4 October.

What the case is about

The allegations relate to 2006 and the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), a World Bank-funded upgrade of the Main Central Road between Angamaly and Thiruvananthapuram. They include claims of corrupt activities during Kumar’s tenure.

The case is also linked to the death of Lee See Been, a Malaysian engineer who was chief project manager for the PATI-BEL consortium working on the road. He died by suicide in 2006, and a note attributed to him allegedly mentioned Kumar. The vigilance department looked into the matter at the time, but the inquiry stalled.

After the Achuthanandan government came to power back then, this case did not move forward. The government cannot sit idle. I cannot become a mute spectator. — Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Home Minister

Chennithala said the probe was “not a political vendetta”. The fresh inquiry follows a complaint filed on 3 October by Congress worker Malayinkeezhu Venugopal.

The bigger fight

The move comes as opposition parties step up their campaign against Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Critics say the SIR has led to more than 13 crore names being deleted from voter lists. Protesters in Delhi and other cities are demanding his resignation, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused him of running the revision to help the BJP.

The Election Commission has said the revision is meant to remove dead, duplicate and shifted voters.

Sources: ThePrint, ThePrint.