Medical college scam: Kerala BJP chief Kummanam, middle-man Satish Nair get Vigilance notices

The Kerala Medical College scam continues to be a thorn in the side of the state BJP unit. The Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau served notices on Monday to the state BJP chief Kummanam Rajashekharan and Delhi-based middle man Satish Nair with regard to the scam. While Kummanam asked for two weeks’ time to appear before the Vigilance unit, Satish Nair was asked to appear immediately. Investigating officials had earlier recorded the statement of R Shaji, Chairman of the SR Educational and Charitable Trust. It was Shaji who had kicked off the controversy by complaining that he had paid Rs 5.6 crore to RS Vinod, the former BJP Convenor of the Cooperation Cell, to obtain Medical Council of India (MCI) sanction for his medical college. Shaji had filed the complaint after the college was denied sanction despite him paying such a heavy amount for it. When the issue was probed further by a two-member internal committee of the BJP –  comprising KP Sreesan and AK Nazeer – it was found that the money had indeed changed hands. However, the issue only turned into a controversy for the BJP when the report of the enquiry conducted in May, was leaked to the media in July. Following the leak, the BJP terminated the party membership of RS Vinod. Shaji in his statement to Vigilance officials, had stated that he transferred the money to Satish through Vinod. However, he had later told the media that he had paid the money as a consultancy fee, and not as a bribe. Shaji had also added that he contacted Vinod not as a BJP leader, but as a local contact to Satish Nair.