Now under central scanner, Kerala CM Vijayan daughter’s IT firm in the spotlight again

On Saturday, the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs ordered an investigation into anIT firm owned by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena, putting her back in the spotlight as the ruling CPI(M) begins its campaign efforts for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The central probe into alleged financial transactions between Veena’s firm Exalogic Solutions Private Limited and private minerals company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) comes just months after an Income Tax department report alleging that CMRL made “illegal payment” of Rs 1.72 crore to Exalogic Solutions over three years from 2018-19, even though the latter did not provide it any service.

The CPI(M), though, has downplayed the latest development. E P Jayarajan, the convener of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, claimed the investigation is an example of the Centre using its agencies “for their political gains and interest”. State minister and Veena’s husband P A Mohammed Riyas said the allegations were “nothing new”. However, neither the CM nor Veena have commented on the latest probe.

Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, who has been raising charges against the CM and his daughter on the issue for some time, has demanded a statement from the CPI(M) state secretariat.

Last August, the Income Tax department report had triggered a political firestorm in Kerala. The I-T department report quoted in the order of the Interim Board of Settlement under the Central Board of Taxes charged that Veena’s firm had not provided any software or marketing service to the CMRL, which was unearthed, it stated, from the evidence gathered during a search on the premises of the mineral processing company in 2019.

Veena’s Bengaluru-based Exalogic, which