MCI Recognition Scam: Probe by SC judge demanded

Thiruvananthapuram: Attacking the BJP in Kerala, opposition leader in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded a probe by a Supreme Court judge into the alleged corruption in getting MCI clearance to a private medical college in the state.

Addressing a press conference here, he claimed what had happened in Kerala was an indicator of the national-level "medical college scam".

"It is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

"It can be assumed that that corruption to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore has taken place at the national level in this regard," he told reporters.

He alleged that an internal enquiry by the BJP had brought out the fact that some party leaders had "accepted huge bribe as middlemen" to get sanction for the medical college.

"The Centre has given permission to 70 medical colleges and corruption to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore is assumed to have taken place in giving MCI clearance to these colleges.

It seems that sanction to these medical colleges was given bypassing the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Commission to check corruption," he said.

The period of Lodha Commission ended on May 15.

The order for sanction of the colleges was issued on May 31, he said.

"So a Supreme Court judge should probe the scam to bring out the truth into the allegations," Chennithala said.

The BJP in Kerala came under cloud after a purported internal report stated that a party functionary, R S Vinod, took an amount of Rs 5.60 crore for getting the Medical Council of India's clearance to a private medical college at Varkala.

However, the BJP's state unit leadership maintained that it was a "financial fraud committed by an individual" and the party and its leaders had nothing to do with it.

The saffron party had also expelled Vinod, a convener of its cooperative cell, from the primary membership soon after the allegation surfaced in the media.