Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday persisted with his allegations against the LDF government on the issue of masala bonds to mobilise additional resources for the State’s development.
He asked the government to release the relevant files for the perusal of Opposition legislators.
In an open letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Mr. Chennithala said he was forced to resort to this method since Mr. Vijayan had not responded to his earlier letter to him on the controversies surrounding the issue of masala bonds by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
He said that there were several grey areas that required the government’s response. But the government had preferred to keep details of the bond issue under wrap, giving rise to the impression that it was hiding something.
The Opposition was not opposed to market borrowings for fund the State’s development, but was particular that the process was transparent and secured the State’s interest.
He also pointed out that the prevaricating statements of Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and the KIIFB too had raised doubts about the issue.
Dr. Isaac and the CPI(M) State secretary had initially denied that the Canadian firm, CDPQ, was connected to the SNC Lavalin. But when the link was established, the KIIFB issued a press statement admitting to the link, Mr. Chennithala said.
False assertion
The Chief Minister’s assertion that the bonds had the lowest interest rate was also proved to be false. The KIIFB later clarified that the interest rate was high because its bonds had poor ratings. “But why did you make a misleading statement initially,” Mr. Chennithala asked in his open letter.
The Finance Minister’s assertion that the KIIFB had gone for a public issue of the bonds in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was also exposed. The documents from the LSE had shown that the KIIFB had gone in for a private issue in Quebec provision of Canada, which also happened to be the location of CDPQ’s headquarters.
Mr. Chennithala also raised six questions, seeking the government’s answers, which also included the ideological position of the LDF on the issue of masala bonds, which was a creature of neo-liberal economic policies, the appropriateness of holding discussions with a company that had links with SNC Lavalin, which was in the docks in the SNC Lavalin case, in which Mr. Vijayan too was a co-accused.
Published - April 17, 2019 07:26 pm IST
