Kerala CM Satheesan’s private flights stir a row, opposition wants wings clipped

Chief Minister V D Satheesan of Kerala has found himself embroiled in controversy over the use of private aircraft for official and personal trips. At the start of his tenure, the Opposition has raised concerns about propriety, transparency and potential conflicts of interest, particularly following his decision to charter a plane to Nilambur to assess the aftermath of flash floods.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party have demanded that Satheesan disclose the identity of the sponsors for these flights. In response to mounting pressure, Satheesan defended his actions, stating that he was on a mission to provide disaster management support. He argued that the private individual arranging the flights was a Keralite and that there was nothing wrong with the arrangement.

Satheesan claimed that the state government had not incurred any costs for these trips. However, this is not the first time Satheesan has been associated with private chopper rides. Days before the assembly election results were announced, he had hired a helicopter to fly from Kochi to Mangaluru, and last month, he took another controversial trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi in a chopper previously chartered by the previous government.

Previously, Satheesan had also faced criticism for using a Range Rover belonging to an NRI friend for official purposes. The previous opposition leader, K M Shaji, defended his actions, claiming that he was saving public money and that the official car allocated to him was unfit for long-distance travel. Satheesan has also defended Shaji, stating that the official car was not suitable for long-distance travel, and Shaji's vehicle breaking down was the reason he used his friend's vehicle.

Senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeeve accused the government of being sponsored by corporates and questioned whether the chief minister's Malappuram trip was at the expense of an aviation firm which is waiting to get a deal with the government renewed.