THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan has decided to leave the complaint on breach of privilege against finance minister TM Thomas Isaac to the committee of privilege and ethics. It is the first time in the state that a Speaker has decided to leave a petition against a minister to the scrutiny of the committee.
The decision was taken after the Speaker found merit in the allegation raised by the opposition UDF regarding the disclosure of a CAG report to media before it was tabled in the house. The minister had met the Speaker to explain his stand on the issue on the issue and had expressed his willingness to appear before the ethics committee. “It is a democratic procedure. The house is run as per the rules and there is no intolerance towards criticism,” said the Speaker on his decision.
The nine-member committee is headed by Kozhikode North MLA, A Pradeep Kumar. The committee will file a report based on the allegations by the petitioner and the minister’s response to it. The committee will also explore the situation which Isaac had termed “extraordinary” that warranted the disclosure.
Congress MLA VD Satheesan moved the breach of privilege notice accusing the minister of infringing the rights of the House by prematurely disclosing the details of the audit report of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) for the period 2018-19 by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Satheesan moved the notice under Section 159 of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
Isaac had earlier claimed that he had disclosed the details of the draft report. However, he later admitted that it was the final report and not the draft, which led to breach of parliamentary
privilege.
The Speaker also clarified on the approval given for a probe against Ramesh Chennithala and said it was not proper to take a stand that stalled the decision of the government to carry out the investigation. He gave permission to the government to go ahead with the vigilance probe against two opposition legislators including Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.
The vigilance probe against Chennithala is based on the disclosure by hotelier Biju Ramesh that he paid a bribe to UDF leaders including Chennithala to reduce the licence fee for bars. The Speaker also gave approval for the investigation against Azhikode MLA KM Shaji in the disproportionate assets case.
The Speaker is yet to decide on probes against MLA VD Satheeshan for allegedly accepting foreign aid for the Punarjani project and MLA Anwar Sadat for overspending on a bridge construction. “I have sent letters seeking more details. A decision will be taken after getting more details,” said the Speaker.
MLA M Swaraj has also moved a notice on breach of privilege against the Enforcement Directorate for initiating an investigation into masala bonds based on the CAG report which is yet to be tabled. The Speaker said he had sought more details from the finance department before taking a decision on the petition.