CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran favours fair probe

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran on Saturday said that action should be taken against Transport Minister Thomas Chandy if he is found guilty of any violation. The CPI leader's statement came close on the heels of his CPM counterpart Kodiyeri Balakrishnan giving a clean chit to Chandy and terming the allegations as baseless and politically motivated. Kanam said the government was looking into the allegations against the minister and the party would wait for its outcome, he said when asked whether the minister should resign.

"On issues of environment, his party had a clear stand which has been expressed time and again," he said while replying to questions on the objections raised by the party to the proposed Athirapally project. By refusing to give a clean chit to Chandy, the CPI has made it clear that there should be  free and fair probe into the allegations of encroachment and levelling of lake. The CPI believes that giving clean chit without waiting for the final outcome of probe could prove tricky.