Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on September 11 sought to disarm the Opposition in the Assembly by stating that the government was willing to probe the accusation that top ruling alliance leaders conspired on the eve of the Assembly elections in 2021 to stigmatise the late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy by ensnaring him in a sexual misconduct case to wring some political advantage vindictively.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition moved an adjournment motion scenting a conspiracy behind the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s contentious decision to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the salacious allegation raised by a woman prosecuted by the Oommen Chandy government in 2013 for large-scale financial fraud.
Congress legislator Shafi Parambil, who piloted the motion, claimed the CBI, which absolved Chandy of wrongdoing in 2023, had pointed to a high-level ruling front conspiracy to defame the veteran politician in a court filing.
Mr. Vijayan put a rider to his statement. He placed the onus on the Opposition to furnish the purported CBI report that pointed to a political conspiracy to defame Chandy.
He said the government did not possess the purported document. Hence, it could not hazard a statement based on media reports, political guesswork, and speculation. If the Opposition furnished the report, the government would examine the matter, seek legal opinion, and initiate a probe.
Mr. Vijayan said the provenance of the case against Chandy and other senior Congress leaders stemmed from the findings of a judicial commission appointed by the previous UDF government to probe the so-called solar scam.
Earlier, the government attempted to wrong-foot the Opposition by allowing a two-hour debate on the contentious issue.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan used Biblical imagery to compare Mr. Vijayan with Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, who condemned Jesus Christ to death despite knowing his innocence.
The ruling front struck back by stating that Congress infighting had spawned the ISRO spy and solar cases targeting K. Karunakaran and Chandy, respectively.
LDF Independent K.T. Jaleel said fratricidal bloodletting was second nature in the Congress. “Chandy’s enemies are within the Congress and not in the LDF,” he said.
Speaker A.N. Shamseer also allowed Kerala Congress (B) legislator K.B. Ganesh Kumar to refute the Opposition’s accusation that he had conspired to trap Chandy in a false case.
