Resort controversy: EP Jayarajan's wife, son likely to exit from company

IANS

Thiruvananthapuram, March 9 (IANS) Caught on the wrong foot over the ownership of a plush ayurveda resort at Kannur, veteran CPI(M) leader and Convenor of the ruling Left Democratic Front E.P.Jayarajan's wife and son are mulling to exit the company by selling their stakes.

E.P.Jayarajan has time and again maintained that he has no role and does not own any share, while his wife P.K.Indira, a retired Cooperative bank employee is the chairperson of the company that owns the resort and their son Jaison is a founder director.

Trouble started for the veteran leader, when his party colleague P.Jayarajan, who also hails from Kannur reportedly raised the issue about the resort asking how come the family of Jayarajan, a former State Industries Minister in the first Pinarayi Vijayan government (2016-21) was able to join the company.

Sensing trouble, the top brass accused the media of concocting stories and brushed aside the reports about the resort and the role of Jayarajan or his family.

But the CPI(M)'s defence did not last as the TDS wing of the Income Tax came knocking at the resort recently and the Enforcement Directorate received a complaint that the plush resort built in excess of Rs 20 crore is a haven of black money and have started probing the complaint.

E.P. Jayarajan, who was cut up with the leadership for ignoring his seniority in the party and appointing his junior M.V.Govindan as the new state secretary and elevating him to the Politburo, was maintaining a distance with Govindan and the state-wide yatra that he is leading now.

But with the IT and the ED closing down on E.P.Jayarajan, he suddenly appeared in the state-wide yatra.

According to sources, the party has asked him to see that his family offload the shares his wife and son owns.

Consequent to this, Indira who has invested close to Rs 81 lakhs and Jaison who owns Rs 10 lakhs shares, are soon going to offload their shares.

Together, they own around 9000 shares and the party expects that once this happens, they can put a lid to the present controversy. But the larger question is, will the off loading of shares help him keep the national agencies at bay?