The Advocate General’s statement in the High Court on Wednesday expressing readiness to hand over the controversial land deal case involving Salim Raj, former gunman of the Chief Minister, to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was the reflection of the government’s stand in the issue, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has stated.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday, the Home Minister asserted that the criticism against his ministry in the land deal was unfounded.
“Those who criticised the Home Ministry in the matter did it without checking the facts,” Thiruvanchoor said.
“The government considered all legal dimensions and the whole deal was thoroughly investigated by the Revenue Intelligence before giving directions to the Advocate General in the case. The government stand in the case was completely transparent.” Thiruvanchoor slammed the Opposition for their call to block the Cliff House, the official residence of the Chief Minister.
“It is unprecedented in the history of the state of Kerala for members of the Opposition to lay siege to the house of the Chief Minister. It is highly undemocratic and amounts to gross human rights violation,” he said.
The decision to appoint a retired judge as judicial commission to investigate the solar case was necessitated by the High Court stand that a sitting judge could not be spared for the investigation.
The appointment of Justice J Sivarajan, who was chosen as chairperson of the Backward Community Development Commission by the LDF Government, as the judicial commission was made to ensure a free and fair investigation, Thiruvanchoor explained.