It may be an irony of fate or a repeat for many Congress Chief Ministers in the state. As feared by many but hailed more by others, the courts are making their presence felt that none of those in power can have a free run.
The damning comments made by the High Court in the solar case against the government and particularly doubts expressed on whether Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was aware of many things, while taking up two cases, has become a potent weapon with a sharp political edge. Though Chandy and the UDF are trying to put up a brave front that the court had not passed any adverse remarks, the public perception guided by media hype and the Opposition outcry for resignation is making things difficult for the chief minister with each passing day.
The query of the court whether Chandy’s role in the case moved by M K Kuruvilla of Bangalore, as per the complaint was probed as well as doubts expressed in the case related to Shalu Menon whether the government wanted to hide something and remarks passed against the special investigation team probing the solar case has given new dimension to the case.
It is another matter that the relevance of such court comments passed against an individual, if the person is not an accused in a given case, is not much. But any further adverse comments from the court will put Chandy on a weak wicket.
Chandy’s woes are poised to brim politically and put him on a weak wicket, despite the outward support extended by majority of the UDF coalition partners.
It is an open secret that many of the coalition partners are looking for an opportune moment to assert themselves, the signs of which are becoming evident with diverse tunes coming from the UDF theatre.
While the IUML is looking towards an intervention of the Congress High Command at the earliest to set things right, the Kerala Congress(M) leadership has also dropped enough hints that issues cannot be left unaddressed at this level.
The ‘I’ faction of the Congress is lying low ever since the Congress high command has become extremely watchful.
K Muraleedharan has fired salvos at Chandy again on Tuesday, observing that his father the late K Karunakaran had stepped down twice from the Chief Minister’s post unnecessarily. His comments came after Chandy insisted that he won’t be one to accept the attempts of the media to foist something on the basis of court comments.
He also asked the media to clearly go through what was really mentioned in the court, while squarely blaming them.
Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan also made a vain bid to play down the court’s intervention.