In the wake of the CPI(M) state secretariat giving a green signal for the re-entry of Saji Cherian to the cabinet with the same portfolio he was once holding, governor Arif Mohammed Khan has sought a legal opinion on the government’s proposal. The Congress meanwhile has decided to observe the swearing-in day as ‘Black Day.’ As per sources, Saji Cherian is set to return to the LDF cabinet on January 4.
Though the CPM maintains that it decided to bring Saji Cherian back to the cabinet after a clean chit from the court, the party was always keen to bring back its prominent Christian minority face from central Kerala to the cabinet.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the probe against Cherian was sabotaged with the connivance of Pinarayi Vijayan.
“The investigating team had not bothered to check the video of the speech he delivered. The probe into the issue was a farce. The investigation was sabotaged by the chief minister to allow Saji Cherian to go scot-free,” said Satheesan.
Union minister V Muralidharan slammed the decision by the CPI(M) state cabinet and said that the decision shows how the investigation agencies and the police force were exploited by the state government to give a clean chit to Saji Cherian.
Addressing a CPI-M programme at Mallapally in Pathanamthitta district, Cheriyan, who is Fisheries and Cultural Affairs, the minister said the “Indian constitution can exploit people”.
“British prepared it, Indians wrote it and implemented it. It’s been 75 years. India wrote a beautiful constitution that can be used to loot. In that constitution, few places have references to secularism, democracy but it can be exploited,” he said.
“We all say that we have a beautifully written Constitution. But I will say, the Constitution is written in such a way that it can be used to loot the people of the country,” he said.
