Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 3 (IANS): The Congress on Thursday alleged corrupption to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore in various purchases made during the Covid-19 pandemic period in Kerala and has demanded a probe into it.

Former State Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran said, "It was a shame on the part of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to have totally ignored this when it surfaced."

"Outgoing Health Minister K.K. Shailaja herself has gone on record to state that all the purchases during the Covid pandemic time was done with the full knowledge of Vijayan and yet he is silent," said Ramachandran, a former Union Minister.

Shailaja was the Health Minister from 2016 to 2021, and even though she won the 2021 Assembly polls, Vijayan did not took her into the cabinet.

The Congress leader further said that the purchases, during the pandemic, were effected through the Kerala Medical Service Corporation.

"The purchases were made without inviting tenders, and a PPE kit costing Rs 550 was purchased for Rs 1,550. This cannot be tolerated. Even more intriguing is the news that most of the documents related to purchases, which were stored in the computers of the corporation, have all disappeared," added Ramachandran.