PSC membership; Saseendran faction seeks Governor's action on bribery

KOTTAYAM: The Saseendran faction is expecting the governor's action on the complaint that leaders, including the party's state leader, took lakhs of rupees as bribe to make an NCP nominee a PSC member.

Prasad Somarajan, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, had lodged a complaint with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan along with a phone conversation related to the payment of the bribe. According to the complaint, those who paid the bribe are PSC members now.

The complaint is that the leader should be prosecuted for accepting the bribe and the member for giving it. It is learnt that the investigation has found substance in the complaint. If the governor takes prosecution action, there will be an explosion in the NCP and the Left Front. Along with the NCP group war, the move to hit a section in the bribery controversy has also intensified.

Complaint lodged to Governor

A year ago, NCP national secretary NA Muhammed Kutty had revealed at a press conference that he had paid a bribe of Rs 1.20 crore to become a PSC member. The first instalment of Rs 60 lakh was handed over to the NCP state general secretary and Rs 55 lakh to a prominent leader through a bar owner. Of this, Rs 25 lakh was given to the leader's wife.

Phone conversation

A phone conversation between a close aide of a prominent leader and NA Muhammed Kutty was given to the governor as evidence. The contents of the conversation are as follows- The father of the PSC member first paid Rs 30 lakh to the leader's intermediary, Rs 15 lakh after the PSC membership order was approved by the cabinet and Rs 10 lakh when the appointment order was signed by the governor.