Judicial probe sought into charges against Hassan

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy dares Opposition to prove the charges Former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has asked the State government to conduct a judicial inquiry or a thorough probe by a company law expert into the charges raised against Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson M.M. Hassan on the trade of benami shares, violating the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms. Dr. Isaac and former Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy told reporters here on Wednesday that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had dared the Opposition to prove the charges raised against Mr. Hassan regarding the incorporation of Janashree Microfin Limited . The Opposition had secured evidence to prove that Mr. Hassan was holding shares worth Rs.19,94,000 in his name and had formed a company with two nondescript persons as trustees to function as a watchdog for the transfer of shares. Such activities of Mr. Hassan amounted to grave financial irregularity and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would move a public interest litigation to prevent the flow of Central and State government funds to Janashree, Dr. Isaac said. He also accused Mr. Hassan of using his political clout to raise Rs.100-crore loan from financial institutions with the support of Mr. Chandy. Though Mr. Chandy dared the Opposition to prove the charges, everything had been laid threadbare and now Mr. Chandy should publicly apologise for attempting to defame the Opposition, the Opposition leaders said. On the Chief Minister’s stand that the government would again provide assistance to Janashree, Dr. Isaac said Mr. Chandy should spell out the names of NGOs that sought Central and State government funds. He also asked the UDF leaders to conduct an open dialogue on a public platform regarding the charges levelled against Mr. Hassan. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, being the patron of the organisation, should clarify his stance on the allegations, Dr. Isaac said. He also said Mr. Chandy’s announcement that building tax concession would be given to those setting up biogas plant amounted to straying into the powers of local self-government institutions. No Budget provision had been made to subsidise the plants. Anert only had allocation for setting up 6,000 plants and Suchitwa Mission around 15,000 plants, which was insufficient to meet the current demand. Ms. Sreemathy said the government’s bid to form State- and district-level monitoring committees for Kudumbasree comprising MLAs had a hidden agenda and it would have direct bearing on the functioning of the mission. The women members of the mission were determined to go ahead with an agitation till the government repealed the decision to grant Rs.14.360000000 to Janashree, she said. The Opposition had secured evidence to prove the charges Thomas Isaac Asks Chandy to publicly apologise for trying to defame the Opposition