Kollam, Keralam Sports Minister O J Janeesh on Monday alleged that the previous LDF government and his predecessor V Abdurahiman facilitated the failed football event featuring the Lionel Messi-led Argentina team, and said the SIT investigation would also look into their role.
“Wasn’t it the then sports minister himself who initiated all these discussions based on unauthorised emails and the like. So, under instructions from the government, officials did intervene. The corruption lies in giving a private sponsor the opportunity to misuse all government machinery,” he charged.
That is why there was a stage where all government facilities were provided,” he said. Janeesh said the issue was not merely whether the government had suffered any direct financial loss, but whether government machinery had been used to lend credibility to Reporter Broadcasting Company , the sponsor of the event now being probed by the SIT. “When it is said that the government suffered no financial loss, where does the corruption actually lie? Government involvement, including claims that Messi would attend the event, meetings at the level of the Chief Secretary and the involvement of district collectors and police machinery, helped create credibility for the event and an opportunity for people to invest money, he said. Janeesh said the Sports Department had conducted an inquiry and examined the files before handing them over to the Chief Minister seeking an SIT investigation. Chief Minister V D Satheesan subsequently directed the Home Department to constitute the SIT, he said. Janeesh said the previous government and the Left Front had publicly promoted the event.
