Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday ordered an investigation by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities during his tenure as the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary in 2006.
The case concerns the alleged death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, who was associated with the PATI-BEL consortium tasked with upgrading the MC Road under the Keralam State Transport Project (KSTP). The deceased engineer’s 'suicide note' had reportedly named Gyanesh Kumar, who was serving as the state PWD Secretary at the time.
The fresh probe was initiated following allegations that the original preliminary inquiry conducted in 2006 was derailed due to external pressure.
Taking note of the matter, the Home Department has sought all relevant files pertaining to the 2006 VACB preliminary inquiry.
Ramesh Chennithala has directed the Vigilance Director to conduct a thorough inquiry into the allegations of external influence and take appropriate action based on the findings, according to the Home Minister’s Office.
The Home Minister said the allegation of external influence in the case was serious and warranted a detailed investigation.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram called on Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) across various states to come forward and publicly clarify the directives issued to them during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Speaking with ANI, Chidambaram said CEOs of some states had already spoken on the matter.
“Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer has spoken. Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer has spoken. Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer has put in his papers for premature retirement. Before other High Courts or the Supreme Court start inquiring or calling the CEOs of all states, I would urge them to speak out: what instructions they received, when they received the instructions, and how they complied with the instructions,” he said.
“It's obvious the SIR process is illegal. Did they point it out? Despite pointing it out, did the Election Commission or the Chief Election Commissioner overrule them? They should speak now. This is the time to speak,” he told ANI.
Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.
A report in The Indian Express had earlier said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections on at least 14 separate occasions over 10 months regarding decisions on electoral rolls, voter registration and technology systems. These reported concerns pertained to Form 6 submissions, voter deletions and access to the central electoral-roll databases.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) later rejected claims of institutional dissent and said administrative queries, operational inputs and suggestions during draft stages were standard practice. The poll panel emphasised that all final decisions regarding the SIR schedule were taken unanimously.
The INDIA bloc is stepping up its nationwide campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner. Opposition parties have planned a series of demonstrations, including a protest on October 6 and a major rally in New Delhi on November 1.