Finally, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan gets to breathe easy
The verdict could not have come at a better time for the chief minister and his party.
Thiruvananthapuram: The SNC Lavalin case, which was hanging over Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s head like the proverbial Damocles’ Sword even after the 2013 CBI court verdict discharging him from the chargesheet, has been laid to rest for the moment following the decisive High Court verdict on Wednesday.
The chief minister looked a relieved man as he arrived amid a veritable lightning storm of flash bulbs at the conference hall as cameramen and video journalist jostled to get the right frame. The verdict could not have come at a better time for the chief minister and his party.
All eyes were on this verdict since Mr Pinarayi Vijayan took office on May 25, 2016. As the chief minister himself put it, “many were waiting eagerly for this verdict. Some positively and others with other objectives. Quite understandably, for the latter the verdict was a big disappointment.”
Almost 15 months into the LDF rule, the government led by him has had its share of successes and failures. But the verdict has bolstered the image and confidence of the chief minister. In his own words, “the verdict will give me the required energy to implement the LDF government's development agenda.”
With the uncertainty over, the chief minister can concentrate on the government’s work. Even on the political front, he has emerged stronger.
The judgment is a setback for the BJP-led Modi government at the centre and the state leadership which keep issuing threats about central intervention in Kerala. For the past one year, the Sangh Parivar has been targeting the chief minister, even organising protests in Delhi, Bhopal and Hyderabad.
Many believe that the court verdict will also help the CPM in exposing the BJP's attempts to misuse central agencies to target political opponents. At the national level the BJP had often tried to brand the CPM leaders as corrupt citing the Lavalin case.