THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rejected the allegations of opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala that there are irregularities in collecting money via masala bond for the basic development of the state. The chief minister said the masala bonds were accepted by the instructions of the Reserve Bank and those behind the allegations are against development. The chief minister in his speech gave an apt reply to the allegations raised by the opposition leader.

KIIFB works with accurate criteria. KIIFB accepted masala bonds on the basis of the instruction of Reserve Bank. Creating controversies against it are those obstructing development. The BJP along with the congress are creating controversies against the government. If the state government takes money from SBI who gave loans to Nirav Modi then will one say that we accepted money from Modi, asked the chief minister?

The chief minister’s silence on the Canadian company having close links with SNC-Lavalin buying a major part of the masala bond for ₹2,150 crore issued by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Finance Board (KIIFB) is suspicious.

Chennithala asked the government to disclose the name of companies that bought the masala bonds. All documents related to the sale should be made public. Why is it that deals with SNC-Lavalin crop up every time a LDF government comes to power in the State? How did they (CDPQ) get a chance to buy a major share of the bonds?”

Masala bonds are bonds issued outside India but denominated in Indian Rupees, rather than the local currency. Masala is an Indian word and it means spices. The term was used by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to evoke the culture and cuisine of India.