Kerala CPI(M) files affidavit in SC, defends land ownership of new headquarters

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15 (IANS) The CPI(M) on Wednesday submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court defending the party’s acquisition of land for the A.K.G. Center in Thiruvananthapuram.

In the affidavit, the party's Kerala secretary, M.V. Govindan, said that the 32-cent land purchased in 2021 was acquired legally, and a nine-storey building was constructed on the site for Rs 30 crore.

“There were no pending disputes or legal issues regarding the land at the time of purchase,” he added.

The affidavit comes amid a dispute over ownership of the land, which forms the basis of the ongoing case. The petitioner, a retired scientist, claimed in the Supreme Court that she was the rightful owner of the property.

Following the petition, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the state unit of the CPI(M).

However, the party maintains that the land purchase was entirely lawful and that the petitioner has no legal claim over it.

According to the petitioner’s argument, the 34-cent land on which the A.K.G. Center stands was jointly purchased in 1998 and 2000 by her grandfather, Janardanan Pillai, in two separate transactions.

She alleged that the sale of the land to the CPI(M) through a private financial institution in Kottayam concealed these earlier claims.

Documents reportedly written to then CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also highlighted the alleged dispute at the time of the party’s acquisition.

The CPI(M) has consistently maintained that the land acquisition complied with all legal requirements and that the construction of the A.K.G. Center was executed transparently.

Govindan’s affidavit seeks to clarify these points before the apex court, emphasising that the purchase and subsequent development were fully in accordance with the law.

Incidentally, the land where the old state party headquarters building time and again has witnessed allegations that a portion of the land was encroached upon from the land parcel belonging to the Kerala University, located in the heart of the state capital city.

It was A.K. Antony, as the Chief Minister of Kerala, who had sanctioned a portion of the land where the old party headquarters is located, which has now been converted into a research centre of the CPI(M). The new grandiose building was recently inaugurated, and eyebrows were raised in the manner of how a party like CPI(M) can build such buildings.

--IANS

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