Chandy passes vigilance dept to aide, stays on as CM

Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday shed the Vigilance department from the bouquet of ministerial portfolios held by him. Revenue minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who is a close aide  of Chandy, will hold additional charge of the department.

He  took the decision a day after the special vigilance court ordered the vigilance and the anti-corruption bureau to probe if he had any involvement in the deal pertaining to import of 15,000 tonnes of palmolein in 1991 when he was the finance minister.

"I have total faith in judiciary. I never lose faith in the judical process when something adverse happens to me," he said. He also welcomed the court order saying he had respect for the judiciary and is ready to undergo the probe. 

On Monday, the vigilance court judge P K Haneefa had rejected the report filed by the investigators three months back that said there was no need for further probe to add any more people to the list of the accused.

The court directed the vigilance wing to further investigate the involvement of Oommen Chandy in the case. The report should be submitted within three months. The court said the statement of Chandy that he was not aware of the details of the import could not be considered seriously as the file concerned was with the finance department for around 45 days.

The court also observed that as finance minister Chandy had given approval to the porposal of the Food and Civil Supplies minister to include the import as a special item in the  agenda of the cabinet meeting. Chandy was also aware of the 15 per cent service charges involved in the import. So, a detailed enquiry was necessary, the court said.

Responding to the order, Chandy expressed his readiness to step down. This created a tense situation in the state's capital on Monday. 

The opposition called for the resignation of the chief minister and the opposition leader VS Achuthanandan even said the court order was just like including Chandy in the list of culprits.

But later, Oommen Chandy rejected the calls for his resignation and along with the KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala said there was no reason in demanding the resignation of the chief minister.

Congress High Command also insisted that he should continue as chief minister. Defence minister AK Antony called him and conveyed the message of the Congress High Command.

Leaders of the constituent parties of the United Democratic Front (UDF) also persuaded him to continue as chief minister. If Chandy were to resign, it would put the UDF in serious trouble because of its very thin majority in the state Assembly.