THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday targeted the LDF, alleging a Rs 700 crore scam in the procurement of software for thousands of primary cooperative societies in Kerala.
Addressing a press conference, Chennithala alleged that the tender for providing software to around 4,415 primary cooperative societies was initially awarded to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and a contract worth Rs 206 crore was signed with it.
However, under suspicious circumstances, the contract was cancelled, and a fresh tender was floated with conditions that allegedly prevented TCS from participating, he claimed.
According to the revised tender conditions, only two Kannur-based companies were eligible, and both were allegedly controlled by the CPI(M), he stated.
One of them, Dinesh Beedi Cooperative Society, which submitted a bid of Rs 58 crore, is likely to be awarded the contract despite having no experience in the field, Chennithala contended.
He said that providing software to over 4,400 societies would now cost around Rs 915 crore, compared to Rs 206 crore earlier quoted by TCS, resulting in a loss of around Rs 700 crore to the exchequer.
The Congress leader said all preparations have been made to award the contract, and the government is awaiting approval from the Election Commission to proceed.
Giving details of the project’s background, Chennithala said that as per the Reserve Bank of India’s 2014 guidelines, a centralised banking software system was to be implemented across the country.
“It is being carried out by states using central funds,” he said.
However, the Kerala government chose not to adopt the software developed by the Centre, citing the need to expand the functioning of primary cooperative societies, and instead decided to develop its own system.
Subsequently, the government floated a tender, in which TCS was the sole bidder. It was selected in 2021, and a contract was signed in 2024, he said.
The contract was later cancelled, and a fresh tender was issued in 2025, he added.