People's Democracy

KERALA NEWSLETTER

UDF Receives Double Blow from Judiciary

N S Sajith

IN what came as a severe blow to the Kerala chief minister, Oommen Chandy, the High Court of Kerala made on July 23, 2013 razor-sharp, serious observations about the flaw in the probes in the multi-crore solar panel scam. Two benches of the High Court made similar observations on the same day.

While considering the bail application of TV serials actress and dancer Shalu Menon, an accused in the case, Justice Satheesha Chandran expressed displeasure on the manner in which the police inquiry was progressing without coordination. He said the court would not hesitate to have, in the court, the presence of ADGP Hemachandran, IPS, who heads the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case. The court sought to know where the money collected by the accused in the solar panel scam had gone and whether those who lost the money would be able to get it back.

On the other hand, while considering the plea by a businessman called M K Kuruvilla who was seeking a Crime Branch probe on his complaint in connection with the scam, Judge V K Mohan asked whether an inquiry was not required to find out if the cheating had taken place with the knowledge of the chief minister.

Reacting to these observations, the chief minister, Oommen Chandy, said that he would not quit his position because of these comments even though he hastened to claim that he respected the judiciary.

“I will not act on media interpretations of court observations,” he said in reply to oral comments passed by two separate benches of the High Court earlier on the day.

The chief minister said that he had spoken to the advocate general and director general of prosecutions on what had transpired in the court. To him, there was nothing to suggest that severe strictures were passed against his government.

CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan reacted to Chandy’s assertion by saying that "The critical observations made against Chandy by two benches on the same day are serious and rare, and we demand the resignation of the chief minister without waiting for a moment.”

Vijayan said the court had actually expressed its deep displeasure over the investigators' reluctance to inquire into the role of Chandy in the solar panel case and over the attempts of the SIT to manipulate the probe in order to cover up the truth.

Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan said that Oommen Chandy had no right to continue as the chief minister.

24 HOUR SIT-IN CONCLUDES,

YOUTH ON INDEFINITE SIT-IN

BRAVING the torrential rain in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, leaders of the Left parties and elected representatives of the Kerala people staged a 24 hours long sit-in demanding the immediate resignation of Oommen Chandy in the solar panel scam and a judicial enquiry into the scam. Apart from LDF leaders, MPs and MLAs, people’s representatives in three tier panchayati raj bodies in Thiruvananthapuram district also joined the protest action on July 23, 2013. Throughout the day and night, thousands of people from various walks of life turned up with vigour and energy.

CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Viajayan inaugurated the protest. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran, CPI leader Mullakkara Ratnakaran, JDS leader C K Nanu, RSP leader N K Premachandran, NCP leader T P Pithambaran and CPI(M) district secretary Kadakampalli Surendran addressed the gathering. LDF convenor Vaikom Vishwan, CPI(M) Central Committee members Dr. T M Thomas Isaac, P K Srimati and K K Shailaja, CPI leader C Divakaran, NCP leader N K Sasindran and Kerala Congress leader V Surendran Pillai were the prominent figures who attended the sit-in.

Soon after the culmination of this protest, the LDYF --- a common platform of the Left and democratic youth organisations --- started an indefinite dharna at the same venue. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and deputy leader of opposition, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, inaugurated the dharna.

REASON FOR INFANT

DEATHS: ALCOHOL!?

ONLY a day after the chief minister, Oommen Chandy, ridiculed the tribal people of Attappadi where the sad demise of a number of infants was reported due to malnutrition, K C Joseph, the minister of culture, said that the reason for infant deaths is the consumption of alcohol by women, especially pregnant women. The culture minister also said alcohol consumption is common in tribal areas. It is impossible to maintain health without reducing the liquor intake.

In Attappadi, 53 children have died in the last one and a half years; 21 infant deaths occurred in the last three months alone.

The chief minister had earlier commented that the infant deaths occurred due to non-intake of food and not due to hunger. The chief minister’s controversial expression came in an interview given to the Outlook magazine. Responding to the controversy over his statement, the chief minister said that he felt pity for the media which made raked a debate on what he said on the tribal people.

In fact Chandi, who has miserably failed to hide his role in the solar scam, gave rise to this controversy when, in his interview to Outlook, he said that the infant deaths in Attappadi were not due to malnutrition but because the tribal people are not ready to eat proper food. In reply to a query about the steps taken by the state government to contain malnutrition, he said: “These are cases of malnutrition and it cannot be stopped in a day. It will take awhile. Another problem is that these people don’t eat properly. Besides rice and green gram, we have also added ragi to the free rations.”

Chandy also ridiculed the adivasis on the use of toilet. In reply to a query on sanitation, he said: “Many of the adivasis even now don’t use the available toilets. We have appointed volunteers to try and change that.”

People of the state were shocked over this interview which has been widely carried by a large section of Malayalam media.

captions: Pinarayi inaugurates 24 hours sit in Thriuvananthapuram

Chandy ridicules tribals in Attappadi: these people don’t eat properly, don’t use toilets