Malappuram : Keralam Minister KM Shaji on Sunday defended his use of a friend’s Range Rover as his official vehicle, saying he had used it for several years after obtaining the necessary permissions.
Shaji, a firebrand Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader holding the Local Self-Government Department portfolio, had said he would not claim even a rupee from the government for travelling in his friend’s Range Rover.
He had said he was forced to rely on his friend’s vehicle as the government-provided one was not suitable for long-distance travel.
However, the LDF launched a sharp attack on Shaji, alleging that such an arrangement was a “violation of the oath of office”.
In a Facebook post, Shaji said the vehicle was not something he started using after becoming a minister and that he had been using it occasionally for several years, including during the past five years when he held no official position.
He said he had several good friendships and many of his friends owned expensive vehicles.
He said he did not see anything wrong in using their vehicles after following the prescribed procedures.
“If there are any legal issues in this matter, everyone has the right to point them out,” he said.
Shaji said he used the vehicle after obtaining the necessary permissions and that it was not a vehicle he used regularly.
He also urged the media and the public to investigate whether any of his friends who provide him with food, accommodation or vehicles were receiving any undue benefits from the government because of their association with him.
“If you find anything like that, tell me and the public without any hesitation,” he said, adding that if he was found to have done anything improper for such friendships, he should be exposed without any consideration.
Shaji also hit out at CPI(M) cyber workers, former ministers, and his political critics, saying he had never been afraid of them and had no intention of being so in the future.
Responding to those who had threatened to block vehicles used by him, Shaji said any vehicle he travelled in would continue to be used as long as it was legally eligible to be driven on the road.
“There is no ‘fake banana bunch’ in my vehicle to stop it,” he said.
The Range Rover belonged to his friend Yakoob, a native of Thillankeri, Kannur district, who works in Saudi Arabia.
Following the controversy, the Minister returned the car, which was seen parked in the courtyard of Yakoob’s house on Saturday without the official number plate allotted to the Minister.
There are reports that Shaji returned the car before travelling abroad, and he has not decided whether to use the same vehicle after his return.
Meanwhile, IUML leader and MLA PK Firoz on Sunday said he was unaware of the legal provisions governing the use of a private vehicle as a minister’s official vehicle, while defending Minister KM Shaji’s use of his friend’s Range Rover.
“The minister has responded that he used the car after following all the rules and we would like to believe him,” Firoz told reporters.
He asked what was wrong with using a person’s private car as an official vehicle if all the rules were followed.
“He has said that private vehicles were used as official cars by other ministers earlier and that he has followed all the norms,” Firoz said.
When asked why Shaji returned the car to its owner if there was nothing wrong with using it, Firoz said he was unaware of the reason.
“Does he not have a car now? Is he travelling by walking?” he asked, before reporters clarified that the specific private vehicle had been returned to its owner.