"There should be a central agency inquiry immediately": Kerala BJP demands probe into PPE kit corruption

Thiruvananthapuram (Karnataka) [India], January 24 (ANI): Kerala BJP state president K Surendran has demanded an immediate inquiry by a central agency into the alleged irregularities in the state's purchase of PPE kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, following the release of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
In a statement to ANI, Surendran criticized the Kerala Left government, stating, "The recent CAG report exposes the inhuman face of the left government. While the entire country and the whole world were fighting against the pandemic, the state government indulged in big corruption and looting. The ruthless loot by the state government...the CM justified it on the floor of the house yesterday, which is not acceptable."
He further accused the Congress-led state government of misappropriating funds during the crisis and urged for accountability. "Big corruption had happened. So there should be a central agency inquiry immediately," he added.
Meanwhile, Kerala's purchase of PPE kits during the COVID-19 pandemic has come under scrutiny, with a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report revealing an additional expenditure of Rs 10.23 crore.
The report states that the Kerala government accorded special sanctions to the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) to procure PPE kits, N95 masks, and other essential commodities in March 2020.
Despite having prescribed unit rates for PPE kits at Rs545 to control prices, the government procured kits at much higher rates, up to 300% above the unit rate, in March and April 2020. This led to significant additional expenditure, the CAG report stated.
CAG report also said that undue favours were given to San Pharma company, which offered to supply PPE kits at the highest rate of Rs 1.550 per unit, as 100 per cent of purchase value was paid as advance to this company.
Moreover, an FIR was registered against multiple government officials and private companies accused of alleged fraudulent activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, allegedly leading to a massive loss of Rs 167 crore to the state exchequer.
The allegations centred around the illegal procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and N95 masks for medical personnel.
The complaint, filed by Dr. M. Vishnuprasad, the Chief Accounting Officer of the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), made allegations against key figures including a former Director of the DME and the management of certain private companies. (ANI)