Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac should have avoided criticising the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) for raiding offices of the Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE), CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said on Wednesday.
Mr. Rajendran, addressing a meet-the-press programme here, said Ministers normally refrain from reacting to such matters.
“There are about 130 public sector institutions in Kerala. Normally it is the chairman or the managing director, rather than a Minister, who responds in similar circumstances,” Mr. Rajendran said.
To a question, the CPI state secretary said he did not hold the opinion that private finance firms would benefit from the raids on KSFE offices.
(Mr. Isaac had reacted sharply to the raids saying that the VACB cannot set the law or arbitrate on what is right or wrong. The Law Department is there for such matters. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had, however, taken the stand that the raids were routine inspections executed on the basis of an intelligence report vetted by the Vigilance Directorate.)
On local polls
Mr. Rajendran said that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would win more seats and increase its vote share in the upcoming local body elections. The position of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala politics has become weaker than it was in 2015.
“The Congress says the contest is between UDF and LDF. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says the contest is between the NDA and the LDF. Both parties agree on one thing – that their contest is with the LDF,” Mr. Rajendran said.
