Life Mission money laundering probe: Kerala Assembly issues notice to ED
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The transfer meant to cowl high-level authorities corruption, says Leader of the Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala
The Committee of Privileges and Ethics, Kerala Legislative Assembly, has requested the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to clarify why the House shouldn’t deem its choice to summon the information of the Life Mission undertaking in entirety as a breach of legislative prerogative.
Also learn: Centre seeks data on Red Crescent deal
In a communique to the Assistant Director, ED, P Radhakrishnan, the committee cited the grievance filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) Legislator James Mathew.
Mr. Mathew had alleged that the ED’s motion had impeded the progress of the Life Mission undertaking to the drawback of lakhs of beneficiaries. The scheme is geared toward offering free housing to the poor.
Mr. Mathew advised the committee that the ED ought to have restricted its enquiry to the alleged money-laundering angle of the UAE Red Crescent-Life Mission deal to assemble 140 dwellings for the poor in Thrissur at an estimated value of Rs 20 crore.
Instead, the ED had tried to deliver the complete Life Mission undertaking underneath the ambit of its investigation. The company had overstepped its authorized bounds, and within the course of infringed on legislative privilege.
The committee has issued notice to the ED underneath part 159 of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. The company has every week to reply.
The notice to the ED appeared to have laid the bottom for one more protracted bout of authorized and political wrangling between the Centre and State over the problem of “encroachment” of federal legislation enforcement into the purview of the provincial authorities.
The legislative committee’s transfer has additionally triggered a pointy response from the Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.
He stated the notice to the ED was a fig leaf meant to cowl high-level authorities corruption.
Speaker P. Sreemakrishnan had used the imprimatur of the Assembly to defend the egocentric pursuits of the federal government.
In a letter to the Speaker, Mr. Chennithala stated the committee had erred in looking for an evidence from ED officers mandated by legislation to examine the money-laundering angle of the controversial deal.
Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran had tried to hobble the probe into governmental corruption by utilizing the Assembly as a canopy to put ED officers on the defence.
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