The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretariat has reportedly decided to resolve the perceived dissension within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) over the controversial Ordinance to amend the Lok Ayukta Act, 1999.
By some accounts, the Communist Party of India (CPI) had felt that the CPI(M) had kept allies in the dark about the move. Moreover, CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran had appeared to suggest that an executive order on the contentious issue in the run-up to the upcoming budget session of the Assembly was not in order.
He had also hinted that the arguably harsh, unsettling and anti-democratic provisions in the Act deserved a detailed debate in the Assembly as a Bill.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition had accused the LDF of pushing the Ordinance slyly to dilute the anti-corruption investigation powers of the ombudsman and relegate it to a minor advisory role in cases relating to maladministration, corruption and nepotism in government.
The Opposition alleged that the CPI(M) feared, and rightly, that a negative declaration under the Lok Ayukta Act in a nepotism case pending against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could cost him his job. Hence, the party felt a pressing need to dilute the Act at the earliest.
Mr. Balakrishnan appeared to hint at the possible detente between the CPI(M) and the CPI when he told reporters at the AKG Centre here on Friday that there were no irreconcilable differences between the communist parties. He said the CPI Ministers had not registered any dissent in the Cabinet. Asked whether it was politically proper for the CPI to object to the amendment Ordinance publicly, Mr. Balakrishnan said:” no comments”.
The V.S. Achuthanandan government in 2006 had considered amending the Lok Ayutka law in the paramount interest of elected government and principles of parliamentary democracy. The amendment Ordinance was broached in the LDF during the tenure of the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government. The 1999 law was binding and lacked an appeal provision. It could open the door for the Central government to unsettle a democratically elected State government.
Mr. Balakrishnan said the LDF government had no conflict with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The CPI(M) would organise a State-wide campaign against the Centre’s repeated non-inclusion of Kerala’s interests in recurrent Union budgets.
