Ready to face any probe, says Kerala chief minister

No plans to resign, says Chandy after a special court ordered fresh probe into the alleged pollution control plant scam at state-owned Travancore Titanium Products

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Friday he had no plans to resign and was prepared to face any probe, after a special vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram ordered a fresh probe into the alleged pollution control plant scam at state-owned Travancore Titanium Products Limited (TTPL) on Thursday.

"Let any type of investigation take place. I will cooperate with any investigation," Chandy told reporters here.

"As far as I am concerned, what I did was to ensure that a group of factories in Ernakulam and the TTPL plant in Thiruvananthapuram were not closed down following the recommendations of the Supreme Court-appointed committee. I had taken an active role only to protect the interests of the employees. We are not afraid of any investigation. Only those who have done any wrong need fear. What I have done is in the open. My conscience is clear."

All trade union leaders of the companies had met him and requested that closure should be avoided, Chandy said.

On Thursday, the vigilance court asked the Kerala police to register a case against 12 persons, including Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Public Works Minister V K Ibrahimkunju and former industries secretary T Balakrishnan. The investigation should be completed in four months, the court told police.

Special Vigilance Judge John K Illikkadan said the three persons in question (Chandy, Chennithala and Ibrahimkunju) were not ministers when the case was first registered in 2006. Therefore, prior permission was not necessary to prosecute them.

Protocol immunity was not applicable here according to the latest verdicts of the Supreme court. Therefore, the vigilance department could go ahead with the case, registering a fresh FIR against the three, he said. The court also observed that gross misappropriation happened in the implementation of the project and in importing equipment for the power plant. The investigating team should interrogate K K Ramachandran Master, the then health minister, said the court.

It observed that there was financial irregularity in the project and the state exchequer had lost a huge sum. This was to be properly investigated. The court expressed dissatisfaction about not questioning Rajeev, who was the alleged mediator in importing the equipment that costs roughly Rs 65 crore. The acts of the then director board of the company and the Public Enterprises Board were also suspicious, it said.

The pollution control board had given a notice that if a waste water treatment plant was not set up within seven days, according to a verdict of the Supreme Court, Travancore Titanium will be closed. After that, the high court had also given a similar notice. On this basis, the cabinet had taken steps to ensure the unit would not be closed.

The chief minister said: "My conscience is clear." Demands for his resignation had come after a vigilance court had directed investigation against him in the 1992 Palmolein Import case, Chandy said. The high court had later cleared him of the charges. A Similar demand had arisen recently during the Solar scam case, he said. "If I had resigned then it would have been a blunder," the chief minister said.

Chandy said the name of Chennithala had been unnecessarily dragged into the case as he was neither a minister nor an MLA during the time and was not part of the government. There was no basis for dragging his name in the case, Chandy said

The apex court monitored committee headed by Thyagarajan had recommended closure of about 198 units in the state when Chandy was the chief minister in 2005.

The chief minister, who is leaving for New Delhi on Friday night, said he along with State Fisheries and Ports Minister K Babu, would be meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitely with regard to the Vizhinjam project and clearance for the FACT revival package.