Why VS flooded Pakistan with Rs 5 crore?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The skeletons keep falling out of the Left’s closet in Kerala. The latest scandal is about a cash-strapped V S Achuthanandan government sending Rs 5 crore as flood relief to Pakistan. It is being seen as a political move to woo the CPI(M)’s faithful minority constituency. Simultaneously another controversy that is gaining steam is the undue haste shown in the appointment of Mahesh C I, director, Cyber Emergency Response Team-Kerala (CERT-K); this was brought to light in a petition by current IT Minister P K Kunhalikutty.

Both the controversies happened at the same time. It started with the flood relief grant of Rs 5 crore to Pakistan. It is alleged that when Achuthanandan could reject hundreds of genuine applications from the state, seeking Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 as aid, he didn’t hesitate a wee bit to offer Pakistan a helping hand.

The donation was made under Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF). Going by the law book, huge amounts can be sanctioned from the CMDRF only during an emergency such as a natural disaster, but only a resident of Kerala is eligible for the fund.

 This was the first time when the State Government decided to provide financial assistance to a foreign country. The Kerala Government extended the help at a time when Pakistan was not willing to take any help from even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A petition was filed at Kerala High Court by T G Mohandas, challenging the decision of the government to donate money to the neighbouring country. According to it, the Kerala Government couldn’t provide any sufficient flood relief to victims in Kerala but they were more concerned about the well being of a country that has been accused of sponsoring terrorism. The move is an encroachment on the powers of Union Government and it violates the Disaster Management Act.

During the same time, a lot of Pakistan-sponsored SIMI activities were being reported from the state and as a follow-up, Mahesh C I was hastily appointed as director CERT-K to counter possible cyber attacks from terror organisations. But Kunhalikutty’s petition alleged that the appointment was a gimmick, rather Mahesh was appointed to keep a track on the cyber activities of Achuthanandan’s political rivals.

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