Cong MLA flays Kerala govt for vigilance raid

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 21 (IANS) A senior state Congress leader and MLA on Friday alleged that the vigilance raid at his house was a "game plan of corrupt Left government in Kerala to tarnish my image and settle political scores"."The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) raid at my house here has failed to unearth anything and is in fact a blessing since authorities have realised that I have financial liabilities too," claimed MLA VS Sivakumar, a former health minister.The raid began on Thursday morning and ended in the wee hours of Friday."It is for the third time that they are registering a case against me after two failed attempts. It is nothing but a game plan of the corrupt Pinarayi Vijayan government to tarnish my image as it is caught up in numerous scams. "Local bodies' polls are round the corner... they are settling political scores as I had vehemently attacked the Budget...," Sivakumar told the media at his residence here.He claimed that the VACB action was based on an anonymous complaint about his alleged assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.VACB officials had searched the houses of Sivakumar's three aides also on Thursday on suspicion of holding Sivakumar's 'benami' assets.Sivakumar was the Health and Devasom Minister in the Oommen Chandy Cabinet between 2011 and 2016. VACB officials are likely to summon him for questioning.
--IANS sg/tsb