Thiruvananthapuram: According to a report, T Veena, the daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and her company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, have allegedly been implicated in the receipt of Rs. 1.72 crore from a public company for services that were not provided. An order from the Income Tax Interim Board for Settlement (IT-IBS) has brought these claims to light, as reported by the media.

Veena's company supposedly received this sum from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) through monthly installments, alluding to services that were never rendered. The CMRL had categorized these payments as business expenses to avail input tax credit. However, the tax settlement board contested this classification, asserting that the payments were made for services that were neither executed by Veena nor her company, Exalogic.

The saga began in December 2016, when CMRL purportedly engaged Veena as an IT and Marketing Consultant on a retainer basis, effective from January 1, 2017. The terms stated that she would be compensated a consolidated sum of INR 5 lakh per month for her services. An agreement between Veena's company and CMRL, dated March 2, 2017, outlined the provision of software-related services for CMRL's corporate office and factory located in Aluva. The agreed-upon remuneration was INR 3 lakh per month.

Curiously, statements provided by CMRL's CFO KS Suresh Kumar, chief general manager P Suresh Kumar, and Company Secretary to investigators in January 2019 indicated that no software development or services had been witnessed from Exalogic up until that point. CMRL's MD Sasidharan Kartha, in a sworn statement, affirmed that neither Veena nor Exalogic had contributed any work, services, software maintenance, consultancy, or any other form of service.

As a result of the investigation, the board concluded that the payments did not meet the criteria for being classified as legitimate business expenses.

This revelation has triggered a controversy surrounding these suspicious transactions, prompting the Kerala Congress party to demand a judicial inquiry into the allegations. The opposition has called upon the Chief Minister to address the accusations leveled against his daughter and initiate a judicial investigation.

The Congress party has aimed its scrutiny at both the Chief Minister and the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPIM), the ruling party. Questions have arisen regarding the lack of inquiry into the substantial funds directed towards the Chief Minister's family. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President K Sudhakaran questioned the credibility of the investigation conducted by what he referred to as a "responsible agency." However, the CPIM has dismissed these allegations, dismissing them as an endeavor to besmirch the party's reputation, particularly in the lead-up to the Puthuppally by-election scheduled for November 5.

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