Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Friday demanded the resignation of state Transport Minister Antony Raju for misleading the Kerala High Court with wrong statistics to cover up a massive corruption allegation over the installation of AI cameras on the roads for the Motor Vehicle Department.
Satheesan and his predecessor Ramesh Chennithalahad approached the high court after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the government remained silent on the AI camera project. The two opposition leaders had claimed that the project could have been implementedat a cost of around Rs 80 crore, but it ended up with a cost of Rs 233 crore.
The Congress and the BJP leaders, who raked up this scam, have alleged that CM Vijayan and his family have a crucial deal in this scam.
But countering all this, the government in their affidavit to the high courtpointed out that the installation of AI cameras was hugely beneficial as the number of accidents has come down.
Satheesan on Friday mentioned figures that expose the government’s lie.
“According to figures from the Kerala Assembly it shows that in June this year there were 3,787 accidents, while in June last year it was 3,714. Compared to July 2022, this year there were 254 more accidents. In August 2022 there were 3,366 accidentsand 307 accidental deaths while this August 2023it was 4,006 and 353 deaths. This being the reality, the high court has been told that there has been a reduction, which is false and misleading,” said Satheesan.
“This false information was given to prove a point and to counter the allegation of corruption that was raised by us as even the family of Vijayan has a role in the scam. Hence, Raju, who has given false information, has violated his oath of secrecy and should resign,” said Satheesan.
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