UDF-led Keralam govt sanctions Vigilance probe against CPI(M) leader P.P. Divya over alleged tender irregularities

The Keralam government on Friday ordered an anti-corruption investigation against former Kannur district panchayat president and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader P.P. Divya. 

Officials said Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala sanctioned the inquiry into the award of a ₹12-crore contract to a private firm to construct modular toilets, allegedly without inviting open tenders and thereby bypassing competitive bidding. By sanctioning the probe, under Section 17 (A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Mr Chennithala opened the door to the Vigilance investigation. 

According to Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) officials, government sanction does not preclude a preliminary inquiry or require the outright registration of an FIR. They noted that, in earlier cases, the VACB had conducted a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the allegations disclosed a cognisable offence under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act before registering an FIR. 

They said the Supreme Court, in several orders, had reiterated the need for a preliminary inquiry before registering a Vigilance offence against those who held public office. However, officials said registering an FIR by the VACB would automatically trigger an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

Earlier, the Kerala Students Union (KSU) vice president had moved the government, alleging that Ms Divya and her husband, V.P. Ajith, had links with the firm and the company was a front for the CPI(M) leader. Both Ms Divya and Mr Ajith denied the accusation and said the complaint was politically motivated. 

Naveen Babu case

The CPI(M) had removed Ms Divya from the post of Kannur district president after the police booked her on the charge of abetting the death by suicide of former Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu.

Naveen Babu’s death, following an allegedly defamatory speech by Ms Divya at his farewell function at the Kannur District Collectorate, put the CPI(M) on the defensive in Kannur and his home district of Pathanamthitta. 

The Communist Party of India (CPI), which held the Revenue portfolio in the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) dispensation, demanded Ms Divya’s prosecution and cautioned the CPI(M) against giving her any political protection. Later, the CPI(M) demoted Ms Divya from the party’s Kannur district committee and directed her to work in the Irinavu branch committee. 

Ms Divya was in the news recently after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive member P.K. Krishnadas sought to sow political speculation by suggesting the party might open the door to Ms Divya if the beleaguered CPI(M) leader expressed willingness to switch sides.

Ms Divya appeared to feed the political rumour mill by citing Buddha’s parable of the raft in a Facebook post. In the moral story, Buddha says that carrying the raft that ferried a traveller through the entire course of the person’s life journey made little sense.