New Delhi: Former minister P.K. Sreemathi, an MP who is a central committee member of the CPM, explained her position to central leaders over the nepotism allegations raised against her.
The leaders said that she was not summoned to the party headquarters and that she had come to explain her position.
The move by the former minister comes as the central leadership is of the view that Sreemathi is also involved in the appointment of her son, P.K. Sudheer Nambiar, as managing director of state-run public sector undertaking Kerala State Industrial Enterprise (KSIE). Former minister E.P. Jayarajan, who had made the appointment, had to resign following the controversy. Sreemathi is said to have argued that she is not involved in the issue.
Sreemathi had earlier come under criticism for appointing her daughter-in-law as a cook when she was minister of health under a previous LDF government. Therefore, her alleged involvement in the recent scandal shows that she is disposed to such activities, according to some senior central leaders.
Some leaders want strict action against the former minister. They also took serious note of E.P. Jayarajan's speech in the Assembly in which he justified himself after accepting his fault in the state secretariat. He had accused the mafia for ousting him and blamed the party for caving in to the mafia's demands.