Opposition Leader V. D. Satheesan said on January 26 that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) wanted to curtail the powers of the Kerala Lokayukta as it feared that the judicial body may deliver a strong verdict in the cases pending before it against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
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Referring to CPI (M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s statement that the body could not throw out those elected to public office, Mr. Satheesan asked Mr. Balakrishnan to recall an instance when the judicial body had tried to topple the Left government. “The move to dilute the powers of the Lokayukta was made to save Mr. Vijayan and R. Bindu, Minister for Higher Education, from the cases bending before the body as the party feared that the verdict may not favour them,” he said.
Rejecting the stance by P. Rajeeve, Minister for Law, that the amendment to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1990 was made as its Section 14 violated Articles 163 and 164 of the Constitution, Mr. Satheesan alleged that the Law Minister twisted the provisions to suit the interests of the government. “The Law Minister should explain the circumstances that necessitated such a decision,” he said.
Mr. Satheesan said that the Opposition would have extended support if the government wanted to bring an amendment that allowed the parties concerned to appeal against the verdict of the Lokayukta before the Kerala High Court. “There have already been instances, where people had approached the High Court and even the Supreme Court as in the case of K. T. Jaleel, former Minister for Higher Education [who resigned after the Lok Ayukta found him guilty of nepotism]” he said.
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