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Cheriyan to be sworn in as Kerala minister today
Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan will administer the oath of office to former minister Saji Cheriyan on Wednesday, six months after he resigned from the cabinet following a furore over his alleged remarks against the Constitution
Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan will administer the oath of office to former minister Saji Cheriyan on Wednesday, six months after he resigned from the cabinet following a furore over his alleged remarks against the Constitution.
The Governor said he took the decision after a detailed talk with the CM. “I have examined all aspects and talked to the CM also. I told him about my point of view which I did not want to discuss with the press. Cheriyan will be sworn in tomorrow at 4 pm at Raj Bhawan,” Khan said.
Khan’s decision comes a day after he said that Cheriyan’s induction was “not a normal case” and therefore, he needs to examine the documents related to it.
Culture minister Cheriyan was forced to quit the Pinarayi Vijayan government in July last year, after his speech in Mallepally in Pathanamthitta criticising the constitution stirred up a big controversy.
The ruling CPI(M) decided to re-induct Cheriyan after the Kerala high court on December 8, 2022 dismissed two pleas seeking a declaration that he was not entitled to hold the office of MLA in view of his speech.
A division bench of the high court, led by Chief Justice S Manikumar, held that no provision could be found in the Representation of People Act, 1951 to disqualify the Left legislator.
But the case against him for allegedly insulting the constitution is still pending before a lower court in Pathanamthitta.
A lawyer had moved the court on Monday with a plea not to accept the closure report of the police. A week after his controversial speech, a court in Pathanamthitta had ordered the police to register a case against him. Later, he was booked under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Last month, police approached the court seeking its permission to close the case saying they failed to establish charges against him.
The opposition Congress has decided to boycott the swearing in function and observe a black day on Wednesday. “The Governor initially makes a lot of noise and fury but finally settles for what the government says. It is quite evident in VCs’ appointments to the latest case. There is a secret understanding between the ruling party and BJP,” said opposition leader V D Satheesan. He said nothing changed on the ground since Cheriyan’s controversial speech and “police investigation was just an eye wash”.
The BJP, too, criticised his return. “We have no idea why he resigned six months back. It shows beyond doubt that the CPI(M) has no respect for the constitution,” said party leader S Suresh.
However, Cheriyan said he was happy to return to the cabinet and reiterated that he has immense faith in the constitution. “No case is pending against me and the HC also dismissed a petition against me. I quit on moral grounds when the controversy surfaced and now police and courts absolved me of all charges,” he said.
Cheriyan landed in trouble after his speech in Mallepally in Pathanamthitta on July 3, in which he allegedly made some remarks against the constitution. Denouncing the constitution, he said “it was reduced to an instrument to plunder the working class”. “We all say we have a beautifully-written constitution. But we blindly copied the British system and wrote a constitution. It never provides any safeguard against exploitation. It helps to plunder the common man and working class,” he had said.
“The Constitution was fine-tuned, adding democracy and secularism here and there to make it beautiful. But its exploitative part was quite evident. We proudly followed it for 75 years. It condones labour exploitation. That is why Ambani, Adani and their ilk grow here,” he said, adding the working class was always blamed for mounting problems in the country.
