What began with high-profile investigations into the alleged Messi fiasco and irregularities in the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) examination system has now expanded to allegations of police excesses in Alappuzha.
Two fresh Vigilance inquiries into the purchase of bleaching powder and alleged irregularities at state-owned Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer Oushadhi have opened further fronts in the widening scrutiny.
Although the latest probes were announced a day earlier, their significance lies in the broader pattern emerging across departments and decisions taken during the decade-long tenure of the Pinarayi Vijayan administration.
The Vigilance Department has been tasked with probing an alleged Rs 7.32 crore irregularity in the procurement of bleaching powder through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation. It will also investigate alleged purchase-related irregularities worth Rs 2.4 crore at Oushadhi, the state-owned Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer.
The inquiries follow several politically sensitive investigations already underway. An SIT headed by ADGP P. Vijayan is probing alleged financial irregularities surrounding the proposed visit of football star Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team to Kerala.
Another SIT is examining alleged irregularities in the PSC examination system, while a separate team is investigating allegations of police excesses in Alappuzha. The government has also ordered a Vigilance inquiry into claims that Excise officials collected monthly payments from bar owners in Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts.
The approach has revived memories of 2016, when Pinarayi Vijayan assumed office after the Left campaigned aggressively against decisions taken by the outgoing Oommen Chandy government in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
One of the Vijayan government’s earliest moves was to scrutinise Cabinet decisions taken in the months preceding the polls, presenting them as examples of corruption and administrative irregularities. However, the subsequent scrutiny did not produce the sweeping political or administrative reckoning that the campaign had promised.
A decade later, the political roles appear to have reversed. Having unseated the Vijayan government, Satheesan is now revisiting allegations from that era through a succession of SIT and Vigilance investigations.
Whether the probes ultimately establish wrongdoing remains a matter for investigative agencies and the courts. Politically, however, the pattern is clear: the Satheesan government is keeping the Vijayan years under sustained scrutiny, with each new probe adding to that message.
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