CMRL-Exalogic case: Rema salvo, Chandy flex boards pile pressure on Kerala CM Satheesan

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 19 (IANS) Independent MLA K.K. Rema’s sharp criticism of the UDF government’s handling of the cases against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, coupled with the appearance of pro-Oommen Chandy flex boards in Kottayam, has brought growing discontent over the issue into sharper focus, putting Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan in a difficult political position.

The latest developments indicate that the objections first raised by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan over the government’s legal stand in the CMRL-Exalogic case involving T. Veena, daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, are finding wider resonance within the UDF camp.

In a strongly-worded Facebook post, Rema questioned the government’s position in Vijayan’s appeal against the High Court Single Bench order directing registration of an FIR and a Vigilance investigation.

While backing the decision to conduct an independent investigation into the evidence handed over by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), she said the subsequent stand taken by the government lawyer before the Division Bench was disappointing and weakened the UDF’s stated position against corruption.

Rema argued that the government had no obligation to act according to the ED’s script, but said the evidence should be examined independently and the law allowed to take its course.

She called on the government to consider the criticism constructively.

Rema is an independent MLA who won with the support of the Congress-led UDF .

Her husband T.P. Chandrasekharan was brutally killed by CPI-M workers in 2012 because he split with CPI(M) and formed his own party at his home turf in Kozhikode.

The political undercurrent was also visible in Kottayam, where flex boards appeared at four locations, including Gandhi Square and near the District Congress Committee office.

Carrying messages such as “We have forgotten nothing, Vijayan” and “Even if you forget, we will not forget”, the boards invoked the memory of Oommen Chandy and the political battles he faced during the previous LDF government’s tenure led by Vijayan.

The messages reflect the anger of a section of Congress workers who question why Vijayan should receive what they perceive as more favourable treatment than the former Congress Chief Minister Chandy who was targeted.

Kuzhalnadan had earlier questioned the government’s position, recalling Chandy’s appearance before the Justice G. Sivarajan Commission and the political attacks against him.

His intervention has helped bring the issue into an open debate within the party.

However, Chandy’s son and Puthuppally MLA, Chandy Oommen, has urged restraint, saying that the injustice suffered by his father should not become a reason to persecute another person.

For Satheesan, the challenge is to defend the government’s insistence on an independent, legally sustainable investigation while addressing growing unease among Congress leaders and workers.

With criticism extending beyond Kuzhalnadan, the issue is increasingly becoming a test of the UDF government’s credibility on corruption and its ability to maintain unity within its own ranks.

Vijayan has been asked to appear before the ED at their Kochi office on Friday, while his petition is before the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the High Court verdict, which had put Vijayan as first accused in an FIR registered by the Vigilance in the CMRL-Exalogic case.

–IANS

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