The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is reportedly contemplating to move the court to compel the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to produce its internal inquiry report that suggested corrupt interference by certain party leaders to procure Medical Council of India (MCI) sanction for a private medical college seeking to intake fresh students for the 2016-17 academic year.
Officials said the agency is likely to seek legal opinion to subpoena the allegedly incriminating report and other related party records at the earliest. The secret party inquiry report, which was widely leaked to the media last month, had put the State unit of the BJP on the defence.
It caused an Opposition furore in Parliament and saw the BJP in the centre of two potentially damaging anti-corruption inquiries, one by the Kerala Lok Ayukta and the other by the VACB, at home.
The allegation against the State BJP is that at least two of its influential leaders had demanded and received backhander payments amounting to lakhs of rupees to lobby for the private medical college seeking MCI sanction. The bribe was allegedly moved through hawala route to a powerful lobbyist in New Delhi.
The VACB has served a summons notice to BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan and party leaders K.P. Sreeshan and A.K. Naseer, both members of the inquiry committee. They are likely to appear before the agency on August 20 and 21 respectively.
Former municipal councillor of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sukuron, who is the de facto complainant in the Vigilance inquiry against the BJP leaders, had also named BJP State general secretary M.T. Ramesh and the party’s cooperation cell convener R.S. Vinod as respondents. The agency has also served them notices to appear before the Investigating Officer (IO).
Mr. Rajasekharan is scheduled to appear before the Lok Ayukta on August 30. The court had earlier observed that the material produced by the complainant did not make out a case for regular investigation. However, the preliminary investigation will continue with notices to Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Vinod.
