CPI-M youth leader accused of taking bribe for PSC post booted out of party, claims innocence

Kozhikode, July 13 – Amid the raging controversy in the Kozhikode unit of Kerala’s ruling CPI-M over a bribe being demanded for appointment as a member of the state Public Service Commission, a youth leader, who was allegedly involved in the incident, was expelled from the party on Saturday.

The action against K. Pramod came after a businessman from Kozhikode complained to the party that he had collected the first instalment of a bribe, amounting to around Rs 22 lakh. As per the complaint, a sum of Rs 60 lakh was sought to make the businessman’s wife, a homoeopathy doctor, a member of the PSC.

This issue turned into a raging controversy early this month and even reached the Assembly when the Congress took up this issue. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the house on Monday that if some wrongdoings have happened, appropriate action would be taken under the law.

Hearing the news of his dismissal from the party, Pramod told the media that he was innocent and did no wrong.

“Now with the party taking action against me, my mother and I are straight away going to sit in dharna before the house of the complainant. I just want one answer to prove to my mother that I have done no wrong because before I became a comrade, I was a son. The only answer I want from the complainant is when and where did he hand over Rs 22 lakh to me,” he added.

The issue is further complicated by the link of CM Vijayan’s son-in-law and state Tourism P.A. Mohammed Riyas to the allegation. It was Riyas, who also belongs to the Kozhikode unit of the CPI-M, who had raised this issue and had taken part in party discussions when the matter came out into the open.

Asked if Riyas was behind his ouster, Pramod said: “At the moment, I will not say anything about such things. But I promise you, I will reveal things at the appropriate time.”

When this issue first surfaced, the CPI-M’s Kozhikode district secretary P.Mohanan feigned ignorance of any controversy to this effect and dismissed the entire episode as a creation of the media as there has been no such complaint of bribe.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress and the BJP say Pramod is only a small fish as there are bigwigs involved in such deals where big money is involved.