Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 (IANS) The sponsor of Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s chartered flight to Malappuram has been identified, while an invoice showed the cost of the journey at Rs 19.88 lakh.
A copy of the invoice issued by aircraft owner Kelachandra to Chipsan Aviation surfaced in the media on Thursday, showing the aviation company had picked up the tab for the Chief Minister’s private flight.
The disclosure comes amid questions over who had sponsored the Chief Minister’s air travel and why the details were not made public earlier.
Chipsan was acting as an aviation operator and would provide an aircraft again if the government requested one. They also said the invoice would bring greater clarity on the actual cost of private air travel.
The revelation has triggered fresh political criticism of the government.
CPI-M state Secretary M.V. Govindan had earlier questioned the Chief Minister’s decision not to disclose the identity of the sponsor.
He alleged that the attempt to keep the sponsor’s name undisclosed raised suspicion.
Govindan also rejected Satheesan’s argument that former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had travelled by chartered aircraft while in office.
He described the reference as an attempt to divert attention from the issue and said any irregularity, if found, should be investigated.
CPI state Secretary Binoy Viswam also attacked the government over the sponsorship issue.
He alleged that the government’s sponsors were people whose names could not be disclosed publicly.
He also accused those in power of changing their approach when dealing with wealthy individuals.
The issue had surfaced during the post-cabinet meeting media briefing of Satheesan on Wednesday, but he dismissed it as a trivial issue and noted that former Chief Ministers (Vijayan and Oommen Chandy) had also flown on private jets.
Satheesan went a step further and said he will do the same again if a need arises.
On Thursday, with the issue flaring up politically, Satheesan, on two occasions when the media caught up with him, did not respond to a volley of questions on the issue.
–IANS
sg/vd