Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday added a multi-crore e-mobility consultancy contract awarded to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to his litany of corruption charges against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
Mr. Chennithala said the surreptitious move to contract the PwC at a high cost under the pretext of seeking expert counsel in procuring 3,000 electric public transport buses at an estimated cost of ₹4,500 crore was the latest in the chain of corrupt deals authored by the administration during the COVID-19 crisis. He said that those in power had perfected a systematic approach to amass wealth through fraudulent means.
The political executive announced non-viable mega projects to pull the wool over the eyes of the public. It then cynically used the quixotic schemes as an excuse to engage global consultancies for sizeable backhanders camouflaged as brokerage. The hiring of KPMG, a global consultancy, to guide the Rebuild Kerala Initiative, a non-starter, was a striking example of the government’s ‘deception’, Mr. Chennithala alleged.
He said the government had followed the same modus operandi in the Sprinklr deal, KSEB Transgrid Scheme, K-Fon project, Kochi-Palakkad industrial corridor, BevQ application and the removal of sand from the Pampa.
Mr. Chennithala alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was the architect of the State’s dubious arrangement with the PwC. Mr. Vijayan had “pushed ahead” with the consultancy contract ignoring cautionary advice from eminent jurists and watchdog agencies.
Moreover, the government had contracted the PwC arbitrarily and as per the terms dictated by the company. It had not floated any global tender for the consultancy work so as to pave the way for the back door entry of PwC. Mr. Vijayan had kept the Cabinet in the dark about the hiring. Mr. Chennithala demanded an anti-corruption inquiry.
Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran told reporters in Kozhikode that the government had not decided to purchase 3,000 electric buses as stated by Mr. Chennithala.
UDF meeting
The Jose K. Mani faction in the Kerala Congress (M) was yet to heed the arrangement the United Democratic Front (UDF) had brokered with the party chairperson P.J. Joseph. The coalition would decide the future course of action soon after consulting other stakeholders.
