Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vjayan has said that he was not aware of his legal advisor M K Damodaran’s move to step down in the wake of the controversy related to lottery baron Santiago Martin.
The Chief Minister was reacting to questions from mediapersons on reports that Mr Damodaran was planning to step down from the honorary post currently held by him in CM office. “I am not aware of anything of this sort. I haven’t heard anything,” he said.
Though the CM has stood solidly behind Damodaran and the latter had also justified his decision of appearing for Santiago Martin in High Court, a section of CPM leadership especially V S Achuthanandan has expressed displeasure over the turn of events. Though Mr Damodaran is not drawing salary from the state exchequer, many believe that the government’s position could become untenable if he continues to appear in controversial cases.
The state government has challenged Santiago Martin’s acquittal in 23 cases probed by CBI. The opposition is planning to mount the campaign against the government when the petition comes up for hearing.
A section of leaders within the LDF are also not quite comfortable with Damodaran appearing for the lottery kingpin. It may be recalled that in July 2014 when Supreme Court permitted A John Kennedy aide of Santiago Martin to apply for registration to distribute Sikkim lotteries in Kerala, the LDF had raised the pitch against the lottery baron. Even the UDF government was forced to take a tough stand.
