Published Sep 25, 2026 | 11:41 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 25, 2026 | 12:40 PM
Within party circles, the assertion is that when Satheesan emerged as a contender for the CM’s chair, he was considered a ‘smiling Pinarayi".
Synopsis: As questions continue to swirl around Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s privately chartered flight to rain-hit Malappuram, the Congress’s central leadership is closely monitoring the controversy. Satheesan has defended the flight with his characteristic smile, asserting that not a single rupee was spent from the state exchequer. A source within the party, meanwhile, noted that Congress has a history of replacing chief ministers in the state before they complete their terms and advised Satheesan to remember that history.
As questions over who funded Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s privately chartered flight to rain-hit Malappuram continue to dog his government, a ₹40-lakh donation from a businessman has put the government under further scrutiny.
Jose KT, a businessman based in Angamaly, handed over a cheque for ₹40 lakh to the Chief Minister for the purchase of a KSRTC bus.
The donation comes amid questions over Satheesan’s use of a privately chartered aircraft to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode before visiting rain-hit Malappuram on 21 September to assess the devastation.
Satheesan has defended the flight with his characteristic smile—which not too long ago earned him the affectionate moniker ‘pookie CM’—saying not a single rupee from the state exchequer was spent on the journey. He has also said he would use such services again if required.
As details emerge that Chipsan Aviation paid for the flight, the controversy is being closely watched by the Congress’s central leadership, including KC Venugopal, according to an AICC source who spoke to South First.
The leadership is unlikely to intervene, the source said, leaving Satheesan to deal with the controversy himself.
Within party circles, the assertion is that when Satheesan emerged as a contender for the Chief Minister’s chair, he was considered a ‘smiling Pinarayi Vijayan’. The implication is that he could project the same uncompromising political style associated with the former Chief Minister but with an easygoing smile.
Satheesan has said that a personal friend arranged the aircraft and argued that there was no reason to disclose the identity of private aircraft owners or drag them into a political controversy.
A Congress source, however, told South First that Chipsan Aviation, a helicopter charter service with whom the Kerala government had a contract till recently, funded the flight and has confirmed the invoice.
According to the source, the aircraft was owned by Kelachandra Aviation, a company owned by the family of Karnataka Minister and Congress leader KJ George. The invoice issued by Kelachandra Aviation to Chipsan reportedly puts the total cost at ₹19,88,595. Of this, ₹16,85,250 was the flight charge and ₹3,03,345 was 18 per cent GST.
The aircraft reportedly flew to Thiruvananthapuram from Jindal Airport near Ballari before being used by Satheesan for the Kozhikode trip and its return. The total flying time was around nine hours.
The flight was chartered at a time when the Satheesan government was considering whether to renew the contentious helicopter service contract with Chipsan Aviation, entered into by the previous LDF government. The three-year contract ended on Saturday, 19 September. As Leader of the Opposition, Satheesan had long been a vocal critic of the service.
Chipsan has maintained that the Chief Minister’s flight has no link to its helicopter contract. It has also said it would provide an aircraft again if required.
Satheesan also defended the use of an NRI-owned Range Rover by Local Self-Government Minister KM Shaji, saying the protocol department had authorised its use after the minister’s official vehicle broke down.
He defended foreign trips by Sports Minister OJ Janeesh and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala as well, saying diaspora organisations and alumni groups had sponsored those visits rather than the state government.
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Supreme Court lawyer Babila Ummer Khan, speaking to South First, said transparency requirements can become significant when government functionaries receive benefits or gifts from private or foreign sources.
She referred to the Toshakhana framework, under which gifts received by government functionaries from foreign sources are subject to prescribed reporting and retention rules. The current Ministry of External Affairs rules retain a ₹5,000 ceiling for gifts that may be retained under the applicable framework.
Ummer also pointed to Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with giving or promising an “undue advantage” to a public servant with the intention of inducing or rewarding improper performance of public duty.
She stressed that India has strict transparency requirements and said the circumstances surrounding benefits provided to public functionaries therefore warrant disclosure and scrutiny.
Political analyst Joseph C Mathew, meanwhile, criticised Satheesan’s response at a press meet.
He said comparing his private-flight travel with former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s use of private aircraft does not answer the central questions surrounding the present controversy.
According to Mathew, Satheesan’s argument that he travels to Delhi without security personnel or administrative staff also does not address the concerns arising from the private aircraft arrangement. He said the response could be perceived as asking people to accept the privileges of the wealthy, something he believes may not sit comfortably with Kerala’s political culture of social equality.
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The Congress source said Satheesan cannot rely on comparisons with Pinarayi Vijayan to shield himself from criticism, pointing to the structural difference between the CPI(M) and the Congress.
“In the CPI(M), Pinarayi is the party, but this is Congress. In Congress, the ultimate word is from the party,” the source said.
The source also invoked the Congress’s history of leadership changes in Keralam, arguing that Chief Ministers have not always completed their full terms when factional or electoral pressures have intensified.
K Karunakaran’s resignation in March 1995 followed a period of intense internal Congress factionalism and disputes over the Rajya Sabha nomination and the ISRO controversy. A K Antony subsequently became Chief Minister. Contemporary accounts describe the period as one of deep factional conflict.
In August 2004, Antony resigned after the UDF’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha election, saying he was taking responsibility for the defeat. Oommen Chandy succeeded him two days later.
“Congress has a history of replacing chief ministers, even before they complete their tenure. Satheesan should remember that history. He is not an exception,” the source said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
