It may be mentioned that the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) had called off the secretariat siege following an assurance from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of a judicial enquiry by a sitting judge into the solar scam.

The administrative committee of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, which took the decision, attributed it to the severe shortage of judges in the HC. Also, the committee cited various decisions by the Supreme Court, directing the High courts not to spare sitting judges for such enquiries.

A livid LDF has promptly accused the Oommen Chandy Government of being insincere in seeking the services of a sitting judge for the solar scam probe. All that the Government did, alleged deputy leader of the opposition in the State Assembly Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, was to write a letter to the HC Chief Justice in this connection. If only the Government had tried to convince the CJ that the issue in which the needle of suspicion points to the CM and his office was serious enough to warrant the sparing of a sitting judge, the latter would have obliged, said Balakrishnan.

Besides, the Government had not even finalized the terms of reference of the proposed judicial probe. Under such circumstances, the HC cannot be blamed for not taking the Government’s request seriously, Kodiyeri alleged.

Now that the High Court has said No, what are the options before the Government? It can seek the services of a district judge. Another option is to requisition the services of a sitting judge of high courts in the neighbouring states. There are precedents. The services of a sitting judge of the Karnataka High Court were spared for a judicial probe during the erstwhile Nayanar Government’s tenure. The present UDF Government should follow the Nayanar Government’s example, Kodiyeri said.

But the big question is: Will the Chandy Government do it? Any such move is highly unlikely though Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakishnan has declared that there was no going back on the judicial probe decision. The simple reason is that a delay in the judicial probe suits Oommen Chandy and the UDF Government eminently. Such a denouement will blunt the edge of the present LDF agitation and take the heat off the government, they calculate.

On its part, the LDF has said that the Front’s coordination committee will meet soon to decide on the future course of action. Indications are that the front won’t settle for anything less than a judicial probe by a sitting judge. The LDF has already signaled its intent to intensify the anti-Chandy agitation, which has been put on the ‘maintenance mode’ in view of the Onam festival in September. The fact is the LDF cannot afford to go soft on the struggle against Oommen Chandy. Any climb-down on the issue would erode the front’s credibility. Already, the LDF, especially the CPI(M), is finding it difficult to convincingly explain the abrupt end – the secretariat siege was called off a day after it was launched in a spectacular fashion which stunned both the government and the people of Thiruvananthapuram – to the secretariat blockade.

As of now, the LDF will resume the agitation demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister after Onam. The programme includes not only black flag demonstrations but also boycott of the CM’s functions. Last but not the least, the LDF has made it clear that the CM won’t be allowed to participate in any public functions. Chandy, it may be mentioned, had cancelled his mass contact programme scheduled for August following the LDF’s decision. It remains to be seen whether the programme will be resumed in view of the opposition decision to resume the agitation with renewed vigour post Onam. (IPA Service)