CPI(M) opposes Kerala UDF govt’s clean chit to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan in Punarjani foreign fund case

Published 30 July 2026 · politics

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Thursday objected to the United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s dropping of charges against Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Thursday objected to the United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s dropping of charges against Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan for soliciting foreign funds for the rehabilitation of flood-affected families when he was the Leader of the Opposition in 2019, allegedly in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). At a press conference, CPI(M) State secretary, M.V. Govindan aired a video clip of Mr Satheesan soliciting 500 pounds each from delegates who attended a conference by Manappat Foundation, a charitable organisation, for repairing damaged houses and providing sewing machines to families displaced by the 2018 floods in the latter’s constituency in Paravoor in Ernakulam district (Project Punarjani).

Mr Govindan said the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) unambiguously prohibits government servants, judicial officers, political parties, MLAs, MPs and those who hold public office from soliciting foreign funds. “The FCRA clearly defines any infringement of the provision as a clear violation of the law”, he said. Mr Govindan alleged that Mr Satheesan, who then held the constitutional office of the Leader of the Opposition, did not seek the permission of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Secretariat or the Union government to “travel to England for fund collection from foreign individuals and entities”. In contrast, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Cabinet had sought the Centre’s permission for Ministers to collect flood relief funds from the Keralite diaspora.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government denied Kerala the relief”, he said. Mr Govindan said the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), under the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, had in 2025 noticed violations of the FCRA, including non-receipt of a certificate of registration or prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs, and recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry. The agency noted that the FCRA violations were a Central subject and the CBI did not require the State’s consent to prosecute the violation. However, Mr Govindan said, the Centre did not initiate any investigation against Mr Satheesan. Mr Govindan said Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s “hasty clean chit” to Mr Satheesan was at odds with the Vigilance manual and also government procedure.

“Mr Chennithala has not published the Vigilance report, and circumvented government procedure by papering over Mr Satheesan’s FCRA violation”, he said. Mr Govindan said Mr Chennithala’s exoneration of Mr Satheesan comes barely a day after he launched a “zero tolerance” to corruption programme in “the company of movie stars and celebrities”. He said the public has noted the dichotomy between Mr Chennithala’s “lofty statements against corruption” and his acquiescence to “political expediency”.