PoliticsKeralam
Chandy Oommen says Pinarayi Vijayan must not be 'hounded' the way his father was
The Congress MLA called for due process in the CMRL payment case, as party colleagues questioned the UDF government's choice of a preliminary inquiry over an FIR.
Key points
- Chandy Oommen said he did not want Pinarayi Vijayan hounded as Oommen Chandy was.
- The government ordered a preliminary inquiry instead of an FIR in the CMRL case.
- Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan raised concerns about the decision inside the party.
Congress MLA Chandy Oommen said on Sunday that he did not want former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to be “hounded” in the way his father, the late Oommen Chandy, had been, and that the allegations against the CPI(M) leader and his family should follow due process.
Speaking to reporters in Kottayam, he said those who had hounded his father “are now sitting on the other side”, but the Congress would not repay them in kind and would leave it to time. If wrongdoing was found, the guilty should be punished, he said, but there should be no haste. He said the previous LDF government had acted in a hurry on a written complaint against his father, and that the haste “led to this situation”.
A party divided on the CMRL case
His remarks come as the UDF government faces criticism from within the Congress over its handling of the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) payment case. The state ordered a preliminary inquiry instead of registering an FIR against Mr Vijayan and his family, though the Enforcement Directorate had recommended one. After the Keralam High Court stepped in, two FIRs were registered.
Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, backed by Kannur MP K Sudhakaran and Jinto John, has voiced concern over that decision. He said he had raised his concerns within the party, where leaders “listened patiently”. He called that a democratic privilege the Congress offers and the CPI(M) does not.
After the LDF came to power in 2016, a sexual assault case was registered against Oommen Chandy, which Congress leaders say was part of a politically motivated campaign. The CBI later gave him a clean chit shortly before his death.
Chandy Oommen said he followed his father’s way of holding no grudges, and asked whether the treatment of Oommen Chandy obliged the Congress to treat Mr Vijayan the same way. The UDF’s approach, he said, was humanitarian.