THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said considering Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s track record in the solar case, it would have been surprising had he not supported Finance Minister K.M. Mani in the bar bribe case.
“When it comes to corruption, the UDF ministers seem to be scratching each other’s back,” the CPM leader said while inaugurating the DYFI march to the Assembly demanding Mr Mani’s resignation.
“There are preliminary procedures that need to be followed in corruption cases. However, when the government itself shields the corrupt, such practices become the order of the day.
Ministers facing corruption charges are behaving as if anti-corruption rules do not apply to them,” he alleged.
He said that in a state where the rule of law prevailed, the government agencies should have first registered an FIR and investigated the matter. But the agencies concerned had even failed to register an FIR till now, he added.
“At the moment, a chief minister who is facing judicial probe in the solar case is occupying the office. Someone who is clinging to the chair himself can only be expected to help Mani,” he added.
