THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Supreme Court verdict in the T P Senkumar case could not have come at a worse time for the Pinarayi Government. Under fire from various corners over a host of issues, the government will find it hard to defend itself in the Assembly session beginning on Tuesday.
With the government under pressure over a slew of issues, including the apex court verdict reinstating Senkumar as the state police chief, derogatory remarks by minister M M Mani, the CPM-CPI spat over Munnar eviction and the Jishnu issue which has been creating ripples in the state’s political sphere for sometime, it’s certain the 32-day session till June 8 would be stormy.
Undoubtedly, the verdict in the Senkumar case would be a major headache for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the Assembly as Vijayan himself had justified the government action of abruptly removing the top cop from the post more than once.
The Chief Minister had repeatedly said in the Assembly Senkumar was removed as he was found inefficient and ineffective in leading the police force.
However, the real challenge before the treasury benches would be to defend Electricity Minister M M Mani. As the Opposition is all set to target the Idukki strongman, the government will need some concrete action plan to counter the attack.
Senior leaders from the LDF and those in the government hope the CPM state secretariat and state committee meets to be held from Tuesday would come up with a decision.
The government also needs to have a clear idea on any response to be made on the floor of the House regarding the Munnar eviction. It has to take utmost care to ensure no contradictory opinions from the Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister come up in this regard.
Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan hopes despite all these issues, the Opposition UDF would aid in the conduct of a smooth Assembly session.
Responding to questions in this regard, the Speaker said the business advisory committee will meet on Tuesday to discuss the procedures for the 32-day session and the special sitting planned on Thursday. Incidentally, this is also the first session after minister A K Saseendran quit following the sleazegate controversy.