Amid a row over the Kerala government’s plan to clip the wings of anti-corruption body Lokayukta through an ordinance, former minister K T Jaleel on Sunday posted a controversial message on social media casting serious aspersions on Lokayukta Justice Cyriac Joseph, also a former judge of the Supreme Court.
Without naming him, Jaleel alleged that the Lokayukta “will do anything for money and position” and the Congress-led UDF is using him as a weapon to stab CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the back. Jaleel was forced to resign from the Vijayan government last year after the Lokayukta found him guilty of nepotism.
In the post he also alleged that in 2005 a senior leader of the UDF was saved from a controversial case when he was a judge in the high court and in turn he managed a plum post for his sister-in-law. He was indirectly referring to the appointment of Jancy James as the vice chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam.
“It is a tragedy that a weapon meant for Gandhiji is getting into the hands of Godse. If he gets good returns he will do any job. When three central agencies gave me a clean chit in a trumped up case he appeared all of a sudden to weaken the government,” he said in the post referring to his own case. Later he also posted the verdict in the ice cream parlour case– a sex scandal in which Muslim League leader P K Kuhalikutty’s name allegedly cropped up but later the Supreme Court gave him a clean chit.
The Congress has sought the CM’s reply to Jaleel’s post. “Justice Cyriac Joseph was appointed Lokayukta by the present government. It is for the CM to reply to such wild allegations,” said opposition leader VD Satheesan. “Frustrated Jaleel is attacking constitutional positions to vent his anger,” said BJP state president K Surendran. The ruling CPI(M) is yet to comment on his post.
The Opposition parties have said the move to curtail the powers of the Lokayukta came in the wake of three complaints against the CM for allegedly abusing his position to grant financial help to three “ineligible persons” from his disaster relief fund. Complaints claimed he misused funds meant for disaster relief and distributed lakhs of rupees to former party MLA K K Ramachandran’s family to clear his debts, help to the family of former NCP leader Uzhavoor Vijayan and relief to the family of a gunman who died on escort duty of CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Similarly, higher education minister R Bindhu is also feeling the heat of the Lokayukta. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had moved the legal body last month citing two letters the former wrote to the Governor recommending the re-appointment of Kannur vice- chancellor Gopinath Raveendran. Chennithala said the minister has no right to send such letters to the Governor and it was a clear case of nepotism and misuse of power.
