Opposition fears self-goal, says Kerala sports minister on GCDA contract discrepancies

Kollam: Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare O J Janeesh, responding to the ongoing tax probe against Reporter Broadcasting Company in connection with the renovation of the Kaloor stadium, said the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) too would come under the scope of the investigation. The stadium was under the GCDA, and therefore the probe into discrepancies in the tender and the tripartite agreement would cover the authority as well, he said.

“There is a political pattern to all of this. The Left had led the GCDA at that time. The government was also led by the Left. All these discussions were held and politically announced by the Left. That is why Left leaders, including the Opposition Leader, strongly came out in the initial stages to defend him (Anto Augustine) and oppose the raid. Even now, the reason they continue to maintain that position is because they know that eventually this will become a self-goal and come back to their own side,” said Janeesh.

“The Left has a political responsibility for this. Not only are they refusing to accept that responsibility, they are spending their time justifying all the alleged falsehoods that took place behind it. Let them explain who initiated the discussions first, who deceived whom first and what actually happened.”

The minister also reacted to the speculations on some Sports Department officials being involved in the issue. “The statements emerging now and the findings of the SIT indicate that the then Sports Minister had initiated discussions based on unauthorised emails. Officials had intervened on the instructions of the government. That is why a stage was reached where all government facilities were assured to them,” said Janeesh about the previous LDF sports ministry.

“The important question is: where does the corruption lie if the government says it did not suffer any financial loss? The corruption lies in the fact that a private sponsor was given the opportunity to misuse all the government's systems. It was endorsed. It created an opportunity to increase their credibility and encouraged people to invest money.”

“Where did that confidence come from? It came from the assurances given by the government. Didn’t the Chief Minister himself say that Messi would come? Didn’t the Sports Minister repeatedly make such claims? A meeting at the level of the Chief Secretary was held. Collectors and the police system were used. By giving permission to use and misuse all these government systems, greater possibilities for such corruption were created. Officials became caught up in this because the minister and the government intervened. Whether any officials had any ulterior motives in this will be revealed by the investigation,” said Janeesh.

Janeesh also disputed Anto Augustine’s claim on any expenditure on renovating the stadium. “To my knowledge, the organisation that handled the lighting arrangements at the GCDA stadium was not paid. They had personally approached us with a complaint. They were not paid even a single rupee. Then where was the expenditure? Anto Augustine, who was the sponsor, had himself said that crores and lakhs were collected. They were not necessarily spent,” he said.

The minister also confirmed an internal investigation held by the current ministry. “The department conducted an investigation. After studying the files based on that investigation, the matter was forwarded to the Chief Minister, seeking an investigation by a Special Investigation Team. After examining it, the Chief Minister instructed the Home Department to constitute an SIT. The Home Department issued directions based on the issues that we had pointed out and that the Chief Minister had accepted as requiring investigation. The SIT is now conducting the investigation on that basis,” Janeesh added.