THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has successfully assuaged the state governor Arif Mohammed Khan and coaxed him to sign the Lok Ayukta Act amendment ordinance, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran dismissed any change in his party’s stand on the amendment.
Openly expressing CPI’s displeasure over the way the government fast-tracked the amendment, Kanam said no discussions were held within LDF. “There was no discussion in the LDF regarding the amendment proposal. CPI is yet to be convinced on what emergency ground the government pushed the amendment of the Lok Ayukta Act through an ordinance. We still oppose the amendment. The governor might be convinced of the need for the same, but we are not,” Rajendran told reporters here on Monday.
Rajendran said every party has the right to express their views on the amendment when it is introduced in the assembly as a bill. When asked if CPI would hold discussions with CPM over the amendment, he asked what purpose it would serve by putting the cart before the horse. To a question regarding the silence of CPI ministers when the ordinance was placed in the cabinet, Kanam said he could not answer such questions as he was not a member in the cabinet to tell what happened there.
Meanwhile, CPM leadership continued to downplay the CPI criticism. CPM leader and local self-government minister MV Govindan said the governor signed the ordinance because the CM could clear the doubts raised by the governor regarding the relevance of the ordinance. Govindan, however, refused to comment on Kanam’s statement. The CPM secretariat last week decided to hold discussions with CPI on the ordinance.
LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan refused to react to CPI’s criticism. “What they said is their own opinion. But it doesn’t mean that there is a lack of consensus in LDF. If at all there is some, we would discuss and resolve it. LDF is ready to discuss any matter,” he said.
