Daily Pioneer: Kochi: Tuesday,
January 24, 2017.
CPI, the
second biggest constituent of Kerala’s ruling LDF, on Sunday came down heavily
on front leader CPI(M) and Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over their
reluctance to give out official information as per the RTI Act, the Marxists’
role in the murderous political violence being practised in Kannur and the lack
of progress in the Vigilance investigations against former ministers accused of
involvement in the bar bribery scam.
“If anybody
is thinking of re-enacting the Official Secrecies Act of the British period,
that move cannot be allowed,” State CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran told the
media in response to Pinarayi’s statement that all decisions taken at meetings
of the Cabinet need not come under the purview of the RTI Act.
Agreeing with
the allegation that the CPI(M) and the LDF Government were in the dock over the
continuing political violence in Kannur where a BJP-RSS activist was brutally
hacked to death as recent as on January 18, Kanam said, “The parties that are
accused of having direct involvement in violence should take the initiative to
ensure violence does not recur.”
This is the
second major attack the CPI has unleashed against the CPI(M) and Pinarayi since
the LDF Government assumed office ago. The CPI had attacked the Home
Department, looked after by Pinarayi himself, after two Maoists were killed by
the police in an allegedly fake encounter on November 24 and the detention of a
writer and a rights activist under sedition charge later.
“The Cabinet
is taking decisions for the people. Therefore, they have the right to know
about such decisions. Whatever is there in the Central RTI Act should be
implemented here also. The Central Act has exempted only matters related to
national security from the ambit of the Act. We should also go by that norm,”
Kanam said.
The LDF had
unleashed a blistering campaign against the former Congress-led UDF Government
headed by Oommen Chandy towards the end of its tenure for its refusal to give
out information regarding crucial decisions taken at Cabinet meetings under RTI
Act.
“The LDF,
which had taken that position then, cannot be seen doing this now,” the CPI
secretary said.
Refusing to
defend or give support to the major ally in the ruling front in the issue of
the political killings continuing in Kannur, Kanam said, “We cannot accept
political killings irrespective of the party that perpetrates it,” Referring to
the January 18 murder of BJP worker Santhosh of Andalur, Kannur allegedly by
CPI(M) activists, he said the incident was unfortunate.
Agreeing to
the argument that the LDF Government and the CPI(M) were in the dock over the
killing, the CPI leader said, “This should be taken extremely seriously. All
mainstream political parties in the State should introspect in this matter,
especially the parties that allegedly have direct involvement,” he added.
Stating that
the Vigilance investigations against former Finance minister KM Mani of the
Kerala Congress (M) and former Congress minister K Babu in the bar bribery scam
were progressing on snail’s pace, he called for steps to complete the probes in
a time-bound manner because the LDF had come to power on this promise.
Observers
said Kanam’s criticisms could further worsen the already strained relationship
between the CPI(M) and CPI. A war of words between leaders of the CPI(M) and
CPI had erupted a few weeks ago after the latter attacked the former over the
killing of two Maoists in Nilambur and the slapping of sedition and UAPA
charges on a writer and a rights activist.
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