A day after the Advocate General disclosing in the High Court that the police had questioned Kerala’s Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in connection with the infamous solar scam, the State Government on Thursday announced the terms of reference of the judicial probe into the scandal without specifically mentioning the Chief Minister or his office.
“All aspects (of the scandal) would come under the terms of reference. We don’t want to put limitations on the inquiry. They (Opposition) had wanted me and my office to come under its purview. It should and it would,” Chandy said in Thiruvananthapuram after a Cabinet meeting but he failed to convince the Opposition parties and analysts.
Chandy could not offer a clear reply when newsmen asked why the Chief Minister and his office could not be mentioned specifically in the terms of reference.
The Opposition is alleging that Chandy is creating loopholes through which he can save himself in the very order that he says would encompass all issues related to the scandal.
“We can’t accept the terms of reference (as announced by Chandy),” State CPI(M)
secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said, adding that it was not clear whether Chandy and his office would come under the purview of the inquiry. Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan said the left was rejecting the terms of reference.
Chandy had on August 13 announced a probe by a sitting High Court judge into the scandal in which he himself was allegedly involved following which the CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF had withdrawn its siege to the State Secretariat which had brought life in the State capital to a standstill.
Though the terms of reference for the inquiry have been announced, the Government is not fully confident of getting the services of a sitting HC judge. “We will know in a week’s time,” Chandy said. As per the Cabinet decision of Thursday, the judicial probe would mainly cover six aspects of the scandal which had come out through media exposes in June second week.
The commission will examine whether there is any substance in the allegations raised inside the Assembly and outside over the solar panel fraud and the related financial deals, whether the Government had suffered any financial loss because of it and the persons responsible for it and whether any measures could be taken to retrieve such losses.
Whether anyone in the Government had extended any help to the fraudsters to commit the fraud and who those persons are would be looked into by the commission. It will examine whether any Government orders had been issued to support the fraudsters and whether legislation is possible for ensuring that such frauds are not committed in the future.
According to legal experts, Chandy’s claim that he himself and his office would come under the probe was only an interpretation and not a necessary aspect of the inquiry. The Government has specifically stated that the commission would look into the failures in the investigation of charges connected to the scam during the 2006-2011 lDF rule.
legal experts said that the Opposition could not be blamed if they complained that the absence of specific mention of Chief Minister and his office in the terms of reference was a deliberate act of omission. “It has become a habit of the UDF Government to add an element of confusion to anything it does. Such things have legal implications,” said a leading High Court lawyer.
At the same time, Chandy confirmed to the media that the special investigation team probing the solar scam had recorded his statement as the Advocate General told the High Court the other day. “I don’t want any consideration as Chief Minister or even as an MlA. I am satisfied with the consideration of an ordinary citizen,” he said.