Slain Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrasekharan’s widow K.K. Rema has called off her five-day old fast before the State secretariat here following Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s announcement of the government’s ‘in principle’ acceptance her and RMP’s demand for a CBI inquiry into the conspiracy angle of Chandrasekharan’s killing.
Announcing the decision to call off the fast shortly after Mr. Chandy’s announcement during his Cabinet briefing here on Friday, RMP secretary N. Venu said his party was accepting the Chief Minister’s statement at face value. Calling off her fast, Ms. Rema said she was happy that the government had decided to refer the matter for a CBI probe.
The Chief Minister, Mr. Venu said, had communicated the decision to the party. He had also informed the party leadership that the government would refer the matter to the CBI after completing the ‘technical and legal’ processes. “We take the Chief Minister’s words at face value. We are confident that the government would carry out his promise,” Mr. Venu added.
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The RMP leader described Ms. Rema’s fast as a ‘historic’ one, waged for justice and termed the government decision a warning to those who had tried to prevent the issue being referred to the CBI. Journalist and social activist B.R.P. Bhaskar gave lime juice to Ms. Rema to mark the end of her fast. She was later shifted to the General Hospital in the city.
Earlier, the Chief Minister said the government was fully in agreement with the demand for a CBI probe into the conspiracy that led to Chandrasekharan’s murder, but could do so only after all the legal and technical aspects were taken into account.
The government had all along faced the charge that it was colluding with the CPI(M) to scuttle the investigation into Chandrasekharan’s murder. However, the investigation had progressed well and the Courts had found the prime accused guilty, some of them of conspiracy. The larger conspiracy needed to be looked into, but the government could act only within the framework of law, he said.
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