A deal made 25 years ago still haunts Pinarayi Vijayan

A 25-year-old deal of Kerala government with a Canadian firm still haunts Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the Supreme Court will be soon considering CBI's appeal against discharging Vijayan from the sensational SNC Lavalin corruption case.

Even as Vijayan got reprieves from the CBI special court in Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala High Court, the possibility Vijayan's last laugh in the case is still hanging in balance as the CBI filed an appeal in the SC against the High Court order discharging Vijayan. The case was listed by the SC for consideration on Wednesday but has been postponed to next week.

The SNC Lavalin case has remained a major hurdle in Vijayan's political career.

He got the first relief on 5 November 2013, when the CBI special court in Thiruvananthapuram discharged him. It indeed removed the moral obstacle for Vijayan's ascent to the Chief Ministerial post after the Left-Front's victory in 2016 Assembly polls.

In 2017, the Kerala High Court also gave a clean chit to Vijayan in the case by upholding the lower court's discharge order. But the CBI again went to the SC with an appeal against the High Court order in 2018 January.

The SC is considering the case at a time when the Vijayan government is facing serious allegations over a nexus with gold smuggling case accused as well as commission and corruption involved in a UAE agency funded housing scheme. Also, Kerala will be going for Assembly polls in around six months.

The SNC Lavalin case pertained to a Rs. 374.5 crore deal between Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Canadian firm SNC Lavalin for the renovation of Pallivasal, Shenkulam and Panniyar power projects in 1995.

Though the deal was initiated during the Congress rule in Kerala, it was finalised by the Left-Front government. Vijayan, in his capacity as the Power Minister in the then E K Nayanar government, finalised the deal and the deliberations were held by a delegation led by Vijayan in Canada in 1996.

Irregularities in the deal were initially brought to light by the Comptroller and Auditor General in 2005 and the initial probe was carried out by the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Congress government in 2006 decided to go for CBI probe.

The CBI's finding was that the state exchequer suffered a loss of Rs. 86.25 crore as a result of a conspiracy involving Vijayan, who was arraigned as seventh accused in the case. The deal also involved financial assistance of Rs. 98 crore by the Canadian firm to Malabar Cancer Centre. But only around Rs. 9 crore was received by the Cancer Centre.