THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition Leader pointed out that the court has directed an impartial and honest investigation. "How can there be an impartial investigation with Saji Cheriyan continuing as a minister? In fact, the current scenario is more grave. By re-inducting him into the cabinet, the chief minister too has erred," said Satheesan.
Going a step further, the Congress leader likened Saji Cheriyan's anti-Constitutional remarks to the perspectives put forth by RSS ideologue MS Golwalkar in his book Vichardhara. "At a time when the Sangh Parivar has been indulging in anti-Constitutional activities across the country, Saji Cheriyan too has come out against the Constitution," he added.
Meanwhile, the minister turned down demands for his resignation outright. Stating that the court issued the verdict without hearing him, Saji Cheriyan indicated that he would appeal against the verdict. "If the court ordered a re-investigation, it should be conducted. The court must have cited reasons for ordering a re-probe. However, no court has found me guilty. It's not a final verdict," he said, adding that there are higher courts, and he would move legally.
Cheriyan is of the view that since it was an issue involving him, the court should have listened to his version as well. Further action will be taken after studying the court's verdict, he said. "When the issue first arose, I resigned due to moral reasons. Now it's not a moral issue. The police filed a report after thorough investigation. Based on that, the lower court took a decision. Now the High Court has issued another order about the investigation. The court didn't mention the speech, but made an observation about the investigation," Cheriyan pointed out.