<p></p><p>Congress MLA, V D Satheesan, raised corruption allegations to the tune of over Rs 10 crore in raw cashew purchase in state cashew development corporation and CAPEX after the LDF government came to power. Satheesan said, there were irregularities amounting to Rs 6.87 crore in the purchase of 3,900 metric tonnes of cashew by the corporation, which happened during the LDF regime. Also, there was financial loss of Rs 3.47 crore to CAPEX in the purchase of 2,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew it purchased through two tenders. <br></p> <p>Quoting from a government order, Satheesan claimed that all those purchase prices were manipulated as both the agencies purchased nuts at a higher price, that too by rejecting the lower tenders. Satheesan also questioned the background and integrity of the managing directors of both the cashew development corporation and CAPEX and asked chief minister to conduct a preliminary inquiry about the two officials. However, traditional industries and cashew development minister J Mercykutty Amma refuted all the allegations raised by Satheesan by saying that they were totally baseless. <br></p> <p>The appointment of top officials in CAPEX and Cashew Development Corporation were made after obtaining clearance from the vigilance and consent from the chief minister, she said. According to the minister, the allegations were based on the misunderstanding that the nuts were purchased in dollars terms.<br></p><p></p>