Vijayan Rejects Oppn's Call for His Resignation

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that he did not consider the Serious Fraud Investigation Office's (SFIO) charges against his daughter Veena "seriously" and rejected calls by the opposition for his resignation.

- Vishnu Varma

KOCHI:

On April 3, the SFIO named Veena, MD of the now-defunct IT firm Exalogic Solutions, as an accused in its prosecution complaint in the alleged illegal payment case.

When asked by reporters about recent developments in the case during a press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, the CM said, "The case is in court. Let it go on and we will see. I don't see it very seriously. What's the surprise in party (CPM) backing me? The party has clearly seen the aim behind the case (against my daughter)."

When reporters asked the CM about the different positions taken by the party with regard to the case against his daughter and the narcotics-related money laundering charges against the son of late CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Vijayan replied, "In Bineesh's case, there was no mention of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in the case files. In this case, it is referred to as my daughter. That's the problem."