Kerala CM Satheesan’s private flights stir a row, opposition wants wings clipped

Four months into office, Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan appears to be confronting uncomfortable Opposition questions on propriety, transparency and conflict of interest – mostly over sponsored chopper rides for his official and personal trips. This week, Satheesan’s decision to take a chartered aircraft to Nilambur in North Keralam’s Malappuram district to assess the flash floods has come under intense Opposition scrutiny.

On Monday, Satheesan took a private aircraft to Nilambur, a region which falls within the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency represented by Priyanka Gandhi, to visit the families of six people who had lost their lives in a flash flood.

Since then, both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party have demanded that Satheesan disclose the names of the sponsors. On Wednesday, the growing uproar prompted Satheesan to defend his decision.

“I’m in charge of disaster management,” he told the media. “I had gone to Malappuram by a helicopter arranged by a private person. He is a Keralite, and what’s wrong with the arrangement? Why should I reveal their name and drag them into the controversy? They are not going to seek any favours from the government, and we are not going to give them any favours. The state government has not incurred any cost.”

But this is not Satheesan’s first private chopper ride to draw attention. Days before the assembly election results were announced, Satheesan had hired a chopper to fly from Kochi to Mangaluru. Last month, he took another controversial trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi in a chopper hired by the previous government for various official purposes, including anti-Maoist operations and transporting harvested organs for transplantation.

Both times, the Opposition sought to corner the chief minister. While the CPI(M) then alleged that he had gone to Mangaluru to meet leaders of the National Democratic Alliance the first time, the second time, he was accused of using the helicopter to visit his ailing father-in-law – allegations that Satheesan denied. Like this time, he also refused to reveal the name of the sponsor then.

The previous state government had hired a chopper on lease for a monthly rent of Rs 80 lakh with 25 hours of flying. This agreement with Chipsan Aviation ended on September 19, and negotiations are going on for a fresh agreement. While serving as the Opposition leader during the previous CPI(M) regime, Satheesan had been highly critical of hiring the chopper and dubbed it extravagant.

Minister K M Shaji’s Range Rover foray

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Satheesan’s cabinet colleague and Indian Union Muslim League Minister K M Shaji, who holds the local self-government department, also landed in a similar controversy earlier last week when he used his NRI friend’s Range Rover for official purposes, with the private car bearing the state emblem and the national flag.

Shaji had justified it by saying he was saving public money. “I have many good friends who own costly vehicles. I don’t find anything wrong in using their vehicles after sticking to the relevant norms,” he said.

Satheesan also defended Shaji, claiming that the official car allotted to him is not fit for long-distance travel. “Most ministers have been using decade-old cars. The finance department has put a curb on purchasing new vehicles for ministers. Shaji’s car broke down, which is why he used his friend’s vehicle. What is wrong with it? The government did not pay a single rupee,’’ said Satheesan.

Senior CPI(M) leader and former law minister P Rajeeve said the chief minister should reveal who is footing these bills. He accused the government of “being sponsored by corporates”.

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“If the Chief Minister had his Malappuram trip at the expense of the aviation firm which is waiting to get the deal with the government renewed for another year, it is a serious crime under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” Rajeeve said.

Referring to Minister K M Shaji using his friend’s private cars as the official vehicle, Rajeeve said there are clearly laid down norms in this regard. “The minister has misused his position and his act will come under the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act,” he said.