The CBI court in Kochi on Tuesday issued summons to CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and eight others in the SNC-Lavalin corruption case. Giving a new dimension to the case,the court also asked the CBI to probe into the role of former power minister and senior Congress leader G Karthikeyan and former electricity board engineer R Gopalakrishnan,who had been dropped from the list of the accused for want of evidence. Last week,the CBI had submitted the chargesheet in the court after Governor R S Gavai sanctioned the prosecution of former power minister Vijayan,who had inked the deal with the SNC-Lavalin for renovation of three power projects in the state in 1997. While issuing the summons,judge K P Jyothindranath on Tuesday directed the nine accused to appear before the court on September 24. The CBI had found that the conspiracy with the Canadian firm had been initiated by Karthikeyan during his innings as the power minister in the Congress Government led by A K Antony in 1995. During his term,the Kerala Electricity Board had signed an MoU with Lavalin to establish a joint venture for rehabilitation of the three power projects. In February 1996,three months before the exit of the Congress government,the MoU was converted into a consultancy deal to provide technical services. Vijayan,who succeeded him in May 1996 converted the consultancy into a full blown supply deal. The CBI had said that though the conspiracy had been hatched by Karthikeyan,he wasnt listed as an accused as the fruits of that plot did not reach him due to the change in the government. Hence,he was not arraigned as an accused,it said. Karthikeyans exclusion under the UPA regime had forced the CPM to term the case as politically motivated. On Tuesday,the CPM welcomed the order to further probe into Karthikeyans role. The courts decision has exposed the CBI conspiracy against Vijayan,said CPM central committee member E P Jayarajan.
