People's Democracy

CBI Charge Against Vijayan Will Be Fought Politically: PB

THE CPI(M) leadership is of the unanimous opinion that the CBI�s decision to implicate Pinarayi Vijayan, secretary of the Kerala state unit of the Party, in the SNC Lavalin case is �politically motivated� and that the Party would fight it at the political level. This was the announcement CPI(M) general secretary, Prakash Karat, made at New Delhi on February 14, 2009 while addressing the media persons at AKG Bhavan after a one-day meeting of the Party�s Polit Bureau. Replying to the questions coming in this crowded media conference, Karat said the Party is �united� on the issue in Kerala. He added that the CPI(M) would clarify among the people each and every question in this regard, and that the chief minister of Kerala would fulfil his due responsibility enjoined by his position.

On this occasion, Karat recalled the sharp comments recently made by the Supreme Court in the case pertaining to Mulayam Singh Yadav�s property, in excess of his known sources of income, and described it as testimony to how the CBI�s inquiry has been influenced by the country�s political leadership. Karat also recalled how this issue has been raised several times on election eve during the last few years. In Kerala, Vijayan was first maligned on the eve of panchayat election. Next, on the eve of 2006 assembly election, the then UDF government of Kerala entrusted this case to the CBI, thus going against the conclusion of an inquiry by the State Vigilance Commission. And now the interested people are seeking to politically utilise it in the coming general election.

According to the CPI(M) general secretary, the Party has always been of the opinion that a public figure should resign his position in case a CBI inquiry is going on against him or her. But this principle is simply not applicable in Vijayan�s case as he is neither a minister nor a member of parliament or assembly but the state secretary of a political party. In regard to the allegation of corruption against P Vijayan, Prakash Karat emphatically said that, so far as he knows about the CBI report, there is absolutely no allegation against the CPI(M) leader of getting any personal benefit in the SNC Lavalin case. He also underscored that the hospital in Tellichery, for which help was sought as part of the concerned agreement, was neither a private hospital nor a hospital of the CPI(M) but was working under the health department of the state government.

Briefly mentioning the other decisions of the Polit Bureau meeting, the CPI(M) general secretary said the Party has decided to field its nominees in 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in the coming general elections, and that the number may somewhat go up by the time the central committee meets in the first week of March.