K. Karunakaran: beset by poll-eve problemsThiruvananthapuram:Former chief minister K. Karunakaran's woes are mounting. First, a vigilance court sentenced his long-time aide and private secretary R. Velayudha Menon and two others to two years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a Rs 2 lakh fine each in a bribery and cheating case. The very next day, the Supreme Court rejected Karunakaran's special leave petition (SLP) for stopping proceedings in the Rs 2.75 crore palmolein import scam being investigated by the state Vigilance Department. In the first case, Menon, who was then Karunakaran's additional private secretary, was indicted for getting medical admissions under the "chief minister's quota" against bribes. But the Supreme Court's rejection of Karunakaran's SLP in the palmolein deal - the Vigilance Department charge-sheet says the state lost Rs 2.75 crore on the import - is more damaging. Though the Supreme Court directed that he should not be arrested without its permission, that is little consolation for Karunakaran. Already sidelined in the Congress, he may now find it tougher to wrest Lok Sabha tickets for himself and his son.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 2, 1998--- ENDS ---
