THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday said that Cabinet will discuss the controversial order restricting information about vigilance cases against ministers and officials under the RTI Act .
At the Cabinet briefing, the chief minister said that he had sought a detailed report from senior officials on the issue. “We expect to get the report on Tuesday. The decision was taken with a good intention but the order was interpreted in a wrong way creating a controversy,” he added.
Mr Chandy said vigilance director had written a letter to LDF Government in 2009 seeking protection for officials who provide confidential information regarding cases, under the RTI Act. This was done with a good intention as per the vigilance department’s requirement, he added.
On the controversy over Karuna estate, the chief minister said a comprehensive survey would be carried out in 3129 acres estate. When asked about allegations that there were serious lapses on the part of Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash in dealing with the issue, he said the government had acted on the basis of the advise of additional chief secretary, revenue secretary and law secretary.
When his attention was drawn to the complaint of Sudheeran that it was based on his letter that the government had made the changes in the original order and Adoor Prakash instead of conveying the decision to him, spoke to the media first, the chief minister said:
“After taking decision, you cannot go straight to KPCC president and inform him. We come here and present the decisions before the media. I don't think there was any lapse,” he said.
