KOCHI: Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan said the Governor’s action to seek clarification on the Ordinance reducing the term of the TDB from three years to two proved there was substance in their claim the government had gone beyond its powers.
“I became active again as the Devaswom Minister stated we were ousted following charges of corruption. Hence I took part in the meeting on Sabarimala pilgrimage attended by South Indian ministers on Monday. If I had ignored the meeting, I could not have pushed the move for the status of the national pilgrim centre for Sabarimala, for which a resolution was sent to the Prime Minister by the Chief Minister following a unanimous decision,” Prayar Gopalakrishnan said. Terming the corruption charges by the Devaswom Minister against the members, including himself, as baseless, Prayar said the incidents which were mentioned as allegations happened before their term.
“One of the main charges is the corruption in the purchase of utensils in 2014. Both of us (Prayar and Ajay Tharayil) took charge only on November 12, 2015. How then can he blame us for that? Another complaint is we decided to appoint V S Jayakumar as the Devaswom Commissioner. We did not appoint him.
Instead, we sent his name for the consideration of the High Court. See, all the commissioners after 1993 were retired hands. Now Jayakumar had a chance and we suggested his name. However, the court sent a priority list from the names submitted and allowed Ramarajaprasad to continue as the Commissioner,” Prayar said.
He reiterated the government action in haste was a move to sabotage the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage. “We could not agree with the government on two matters which were against the customs of the temple. One is allowing entry to females of all ages and the other one is to open the temple 365 days. Even if the government tries to allow the entry of women against the customs of the temple through a new Board, we will continue to oppose it. We need not be in the Devaswom Board to do that,” he said.
Ordinance infringed upon rights of Assembly: K C Joseph
T’Puram: The Devaswom Ordinance issued by the state government is a blatant misuse of powers enshrined under Article 213 of the Constitution for resorting to that when the Assembly is not in session, Congress legislature party deputy leader K C Joseph has said. ‘’The Ordinance issued a day after a session is an encroachment on the rights of the Assembly,’’ he said. ‘’The Assembly had a day’s session on November 9.Had there been any exigency on the Devaswom members’ tenure, the government ought to have introduced a Bill in the Assembly on that day and got it passed. Instead,the Chief Minister moved a motion for sine die of the Assembly after making it clear that no business was remaining. Coming up with a recommendation for an Ordinance after the Cabinet meet on the very next day infringed the rights of the Assembly,” Joseph said.
Kummanam asks govt not to resend ordinance to Governor
T’Puram: BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan said the government should not resend the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) ordinance returned by the Governor. He told reporters the Governor was convinced the government’s decision to dissolve the Board (TDB) was unnecessary. “It was in view of the conviction there was no urgent necessity to promulgate an ordinance to dissolve the Board that the Governor returned the ordinance. Government should give up its intransigence and understand the people’s sentiments against the dissolution of the Board and withdraw its decision,” he said. If corruption was the reason cited for the dissolution of the Board, then the CPM member in the Board too was responsible, he said. “If there were irregularities in the functioning of the Board, the government should have taken legal measures,” Kummanam said. “Besides, the government could have presented a Bill in this regard when the Assembly session was held on November 9. This shows the government had ulterior motives,” he said. The government should not consider the dissolution of the Board as a prestige issue, he said.
Solar Commission denied natural justice to me: Venugopal
Alappuzha: K C Venugopal MP has said he was denied natural justice by the Judicial Commission which probed the Solar scam. He said there were indications the Justice G Sivarajan Commission had become a tool in the hands of those who wanted to tarnish his image. “The Commission has not made any personal observations or remarks against me in its report. No one has produced any piece of evidence against me before the Commission. However, my name was included in a letter attached along with the report, which was stated to be written by Saritha. She had written several letters, but the Commission considered a particular letter only and made it part of the report without investigating allegations raised in it. I have been victimised without even a piece of evidence against me,” he said in a press release. “There were media reports that Saritha had given digital evidence to the Commission. But only a letter and records of telephonic conversations were produced as proof against me. Even after four years, no clinching evidence has been produced,” he said.