Leading opposition parties in Kerala have accused Marxist chief-minister Pinarayi Vijayan of looting funds allocated for ‘Cyclone Ockhi’ rehabilitation to meet his personal expenditure.

Cyclone Ockhi hit the Southern-most tip of Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala in all its fury in December last year. Kanniyakumari District in Tamil Nadu and Kerala’s coastal region bore the brunt of the attack.  More than 200 fishermen died and scores of fishermen went missing as they were caught unaware of the impending cyclone and were involved in deep-sea fishing.

Funds were allocated by the State and the Centre to undertake rehabilitation of affected victims.  In the meantime, it is now alleged by opposition parties that chief-minister Vijayan had misused the allocation for rehabilitation work by ordering Trivandrum District Collector to pay Rs.4 lakhs from the ‘Ockhi’ funds towards rent for his helicopter ride on 26th December to Trichur to attend party meeting.

The chief-minister, however, has denied this and said that the Opposition parties have been purposely making a case out of nothing. Congress leader Ramesh Chinnithala didn’t mince his words while criticizing the chief-minister when he said that the chief-minister’s act is akin to taking alms from a beggar.