Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and his CPI counterpart Pannian Ravindran have termed unacceptable the terms of reference for the judicial probe into the solar scam as it does not cover Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his office.
In a statement here on Thursday, Mr. Vijayan said the first point to be referred to the judicial inquiry commission should have been the role played by the Chief Minister and his office. Although the Cabinet has decided to place all the allegations that had been raised within and outside the Assembly within the ambit of the probe, this was not sufficient. There must be a clear reference to the issue, he said.
The CPI(M) leader said the judicial inquiry would become meaningful and fair only if the Chief Minister’s role was also probed and wanted to know why Mr. Chandy had failed to include it in the terms of reference of the probe after having said that all complaints relating to the solar scam beginning 2006 would be probed.
In his statement, Mr. Ravindran pointed out that inclusion of the Chief Minister and his office in the probe was the most important demand put forward by the Opposition. The investigation team had questioned the Chief Minister on the basis of evidence showing his involvement in the scam. The CCTV visuals from his office were also being examined. If all these were to be excluded from the judicial probe, it would become a farce, the CPI leader said.
