"Congress has to answer": Kerala minister after finance firm claims MP didn't payback Rs 2 cr election loan

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], February 8 (ANI): Kerala Minister Veena George on Sunday said that Congress has to respond to the "serious" allegations levelled against party MP Anto Antony, accusing him of not returning Rs 2 crore that he had borrowed from a finance company for the 2019 election.
"It is a serious allegation. They have accepted it. My question is, what was the total expenditure for that election? He filed it, but was this included? So, that is a serious issue. That they have to answer," Veena George said.
This comes in the wake of allegations by NM Raju, proprietor of Nedumparambil Finance, who claims that Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony failed to repay Rs 2 crore he borrowed from the firm seven years ago. NCS is a finance company based in Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta district.
Raju's firm is under scrutiny in the Sabarimala gold heist scam. It is also being investigated by the Crime Branch and by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Meanwhile, on a question on the SIT questioning MP Adoor Prakash, George said, "Truth will prevail. Truth will come out. So, let's wait."
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned UDF convenor and Member of Parliament Adoor Prakash at the Crime Branch headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday.
After leaving the Crime Branch headquarters, Prakash said he had given "clear answers" and that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had not raised questions about his finances.
"I gave clear answers to the questions asked by the investigation team. It is for the investigating officers to say whether my replies were satisfactory. The investigation team did not ask about my financial matters," Prakash said.
Kerala Education Minister V Shivankutty said today, "As more details emerge about the involvement of Congress leaders in the Sabarimala gold heist case, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal is attempting to distract public attention by making a cheap remark that the Chief Minister has 'lost his sense of time and place'.
"KC Venugopal need not worry about the Chief Minister's clarity. Instead, he must explain how key Congress leaders were visited by Unnikrishnan Potti, an accused in the gold heist case. Who enabled a prime accused to meet Sonia Gandhi, a person under the highest security cover? Can such meetings happen without the knowledge of the AICC General Secretary?"
The state minister said that UDF Convenor Adoor Prakash's revelation that Unnikrishnan Potti met Sonia Gandhi multiple times is extremely serious.
"Even senior Congress leaders do not get such access. How did an accused in a major theft case get it? The Special Investigation Team will bring out the truth. KC Venugopal's words reflect the panic of someone caught red-handed. The people of Kerala are aware of what is happening. Personal attacks on the Chief Minister will not obscure Congress leaders' links to individuals accused of theft. Venugopal should first answer questions about his own party's 'golden' connections," he said.
"Equally shocking is the revelation that Congress MP Anto Antony received crores of rupees from a financial institution implicated in the Sabarimala gold theft investigation. Such dealings violate every standard of transparency expected from public representatives and expose the criminal face of the Congress," he said.
Sivankutty said, "It has now come to light that he received Rs 2 crore from NM Raju for the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign, and even the MP has partially admitted it. The Congress must clarify whether this is the kind of money used by its leaders to fight elections." (ANI)