Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan demanded on Sunday that the contract for supply of cycles to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students be retendered “since there is corruption in the deal.”
He noted that about Rs.16 crore was to be spent for purchasing 50,000 cycles. The government claimed to be transparent, but it had gone ahead with the tender process without transparency. The tender notice was issued on August 28 and the last date for submission of tenders was September 1. In between, there were only two working days. The tender thus closed without following the norms for the benefit of favoured contractors. It was clear that objective behind the irregularities was corruption, Mr. Achuthanandan added.
