Medical workers wear personal protective equipment (PPE), Representational purpose.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress has demanded that a corruption case should be registered against former Kerala health minister K K Shailaja for the irregularities in the purchase of PPE kits during Covid-19.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan said that rampant corruption had taken place in the purchases made during Covid. It is very much evident from documents that the state government purchased a PPE kit for Rs. 1,550 even when an offer by another firm for supplying PPE kits for Rs. 550 was available, said Satheesan by producing copies of the offer letter.
Former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that a purchase committee comprising the then health minister Shailaja decided to purchase the PPE kits at higher rates. Hence a corruption case should be registered against her.
The opposition also raised the matter in the assembly.
Meanwhile, former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac said that the BJP government at the centre was misusing government agencies with political motives. Moreover, the Comptroller and Auditor General's critical remarks are not backed by any data. Apart from price, various aspects like quality will have to be considered while making purchases, he said.
The CAG report tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday cited that during Covid-19 Kerala government purchased PPE kits at prices that were up to 300 per cent higher than the lower price offers available.