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The State Cabinet has approved the proposal for instituting a probe into the solar scam by a sitting judge of the High Court.
This was one of the major demands articulated by the Opposition Left Democratic Front for quite sometime now, and aired forcefully through the siege of the Secretariat by protesters in their tens of thousands.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The government would shortly write to the Chief Justice in this regard, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told newspersons after a Cabinet meeting here on Friday.
The terms of reference would be finalised after discussions with the Opposition, which has demanded that the office of the Chief Minister be brought within its scope.
The ‘size’ of the scam as stated in various charge-sheets filed until now scarcely add up to Rs 10 crore but it was the alleged links of his office with the kingpins which had inflated its ‘scale’ many times over.
WON’T STEP DOWN
The Chief Minister reiterated to newspersons that the State Government was not even remotely connected with the scam.
This is why he does not intend to step down and oblige the Opposition’s other major demand. “Let them revert to me with compelling evidence, if any. We’ll then give it a thought.”
But he did not take kindly to the Opposition’s threat of disrupting his public engagements, including the mass contact programmes scheduled for this month and the next.
This would be cruel to the hundreds of poor and disadvantaged people who want to attend the programme to get a personal hearing from the Chief Minister on their grievances and a settlement on the spot.
He said he proposed to go ahead with the programme since he could not afford to go back on his word. He would not be bogged down by protesters waving black flags, he said.
IDUKKI RELIEF
In other decisions, the Cabinet resolved to reach out to the rain and landslide-hit residents of Idukki district and extend them maximum possible assistance.
The Chief Minister has convened a meeting with the Revenue Minister and the District Collector here on Saturday, which would also be attended by various people’s representatives, including MLAs and MPs.
Other Collectors have also been asked to assess rain damage in their respective districts and they have been authorised to take initiatives to help out the affected.
> vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in
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