Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said that the confusion that had arisen from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s observations at a media conference on Thursday have vanished with Mr. Chandy clarifying his position on Friday.
“The Chief Minister’s statement had given rise ‘to some confusion, but it has been cleared with his statement today,” Mr. Chennithala told a press meet on Friday, adding that Mr. Chandy had offered the clarification after talking to him. Mr. Chandy had earlier in the day clarified that the ‘divergent perceptions’ that he had referred to while speaking about the registration of an FIR against Finance Minister K.M. Mani on the bar bribery issue was only a reference to the views of legal experts and not himself and the Home Minister.
Mr. Chennithala said the case was registered on a specific instruction from the Kerala High Court while disposing off a writ petition filed by CPI legislator V.S. Sunil Kumar. The court had directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to base its actions on the Supreme Court directive in the Lalithakumari case and that it should keep the court posted about the progress of the investigation.
‘No interference’
The Vigilance was an agency with great credibility and had total freedom to act in such matters. As Home Minister, he did not believe in interfering with its functioning. He also had nothing personal against Mr. Mani to do anything of the kind, he said.
Mr. Chennithala said the Vigilance had rejected Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan’s letter seeking an investigation against him and others based on the contents of an audio tape only because it had found the contents of the tape vague. The Vigilance director had communicated rejection of Mr. Achuthanandan’s demand and he would have done so with the full knowledge that he would have to defend his action before the Court, the Home Minister said.
