Satheesan on Wednesday mounted a broad defence of his government’s decisions on the CMRL-Exalogic probe, his use of a helicopter and a chartered aircraft, ministers travelling abroad and the use of private vehicles, insisting that the new UDF government’s objective was to prevent wasteful expenditure and plug leakages from the state exchequer. Chief Minister V.D.
Veena and son-in-law P.A. Mohammed Riyas. On Local Self-Government Minister K.M.
On the controversy over his air travel, CM Satheesan said the helicopter he used was part of an agreement entered into by the previous LDF government at a monthly cost of Rs 80 lakh. He said there were around 1,000 organisations of Keralites in the UAE alone and that, after a decade, the return of a UDF government had prompted diaspora organisations to invite ministers and arrange their tickets.
Facing a barrage of questions after a Cabinet briefing, CM Satheesan said the government had shown no undue haste in deciding to proceed with the CMRL-Exalogic inquiry involving former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. CM Satheesan said a preliminary inquiry had to precede before deciding on the need to register an FIR, and the government had only discharged its legal responsibility. Shaji using a friend’s Range Rover, CM Satheesan said the minister’s official vehicle was around a decade old and frequently broke down. “I am perhaps the only Chief Minister who travels alone to Delhi,” CM Satheesan said, adding that he had declined additional police security there because Kerala Police personnel were already stationed in Delhi.
