The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been seeking political space in the State, on Sunday pulled out a different card by petitioning the Governor seeking his intervention to get Transport Minister Thomas Chandy disqualified as a legislator and Minister since he had concealed information about his assets in the mandatory election affidavit before the Election Commission and statement of assets before the Speaker and the Governor.
The petition referred to information gathered under the Right to Information Act to contend that Mr. Chandy, his wife and dependants had undisclosed assets acquired through benami and unaccounted transactions. The details of these assets were deliberately suppressed in the election affidavit on his assets submitted to the Election Commission while filing his papers for contesting the Assembly election and the statement of assets before the competent authorities as a legislator and Minister. The petition contended that Mr. Chandy was guilty of offence under Section 177 of the Indian Penal Code and under Clause (e) of Article 191(1) of the Constitution.
The BJP’s move focusing on the Minister’s alleged infractions related to the disclosure of his assets before the relevant authorities is interesting because the current controversies and agitations are focused on the alleged encroachment of government land and reclamation of backwaters by the Lake Resort owned by Mr. Chandy, the Nationalist Congress Party nominee in the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet.
Embargo on Secretariat
The BJP decided to organise an embargo on the State Secretariat on Monday in order to wrest additional leverage. In a statement here, the BJP said that its workers would picket the three gates of the Secretariat. The picketing and embargo would be inaugurated by party State president Kummanam Rajasekharan.
All leaders of the NDA would participate in the stir, the statement said. In spite of the CPI’s strong opposition, the Minister was continuing in office because of the protection given by the Chief Minister, who should clarify why he was taking a soft approach towards Mr. Chandy.
The UDF did not have the moral right to organise agitations against the Minister having done all the spade work that enabled him to carry on his alleged encroachment of government land and reclamation of backwaters.
