A stunned CM and the UDF are reeling under the impact of the judicial jolt administered by the Kerala High Court the other day. The legal setback, which is bound to have a bearing on the electoral prospects of the ruling UDF, has come barely ten days before the crucial Lok Sabha elections.

The court's remarks came while considering a petition alleging that property worth over Rs 275 crore was seized by the Chief Minister's former gunman Salim Raj and his relatives in connivance with revenue officials.

Ordering a CBI inquiry into the issue, the HC squarely blamed the Chief Minister for the criminal activities of some of his former staff members.

“The Chief Minister’s office should be a model institution serving the interests of the people. Recent incidents have raised serious questions on the functioning of the Chief Minister’s office for which the Chief Minister is answerable to the state,” was the scathing remark of the HC. Twisting the knife in the CM’s wound, the HC further said, ”Prima facie evidence of the presence of unscrupulous elements among the personal staff in the Chief Minister’s office and the associated criminal activities in these cases call for a thorough and independent investigation into the crime and associated activities involving personal staff in the chief minister’s office.”

In one fell swoop, the HC verdict has deprived the UDF of the slight edge it had managed to acquire in the no-holds-barred poll campaign. Electioneering, which has entered the crucial last phase will now see a defensive UDF trying to explain the severe setback in the form of the court strictures. That the Congress is divided on the court order is clear from the initial reactions of the party leaders. While KPCC president V M Sudheeran and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala have welcomed the HC order, on the ground that the government itself had sought a CBI inquiry into the land grab issue, they have refused to comment on the court’s remarks against the Chief Minister. “As for the court’s observations on the Chief Minister’s office, the CM himself would answer,” was the cryptic remark of both the leaders.

Although he is putting up a brave front, the Chief Minister, who has been kind of isolated within the party all of a sudden, will find it extremely difficult to undo the political damage it has inflicted on his image and the credibility of his government. Reports have it that the government may appeal against the court’s observations against the Chief Minister. Here again, opinion appears divided. A section of legal experts believes that an appeal would not serve the government’s purpose as it runs the risk of further angering the court. However, another section wants the government to go in for an appeal. If it does not, they say, the CM will have no option but to resign, something neither Chandy nor the government wants to do at this stage.

Besides, the court’s observations have come at a time when the CM had raised the stakes by stating that the elections would be a referendum on the UDF government’s performance, and that he alone would be responsible for the electoral outcome. The Congress High Command, which the CM consulted following the court order, has also not revealed its mind, although there are reports that it favours an appeal against the verdict.

Needless to say, Chandy’s discomfiture has come as a shot in the arm for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which has been on the defensive on the issue of the TP Chandrashekharan murder issue. A jubilant leader of the Opposition, V S Achuthanandan and State CPI(M) secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan, who have been handed a powerful weapon to attack Chandy have upped the ante by promptly demanding immediate resignation of the CM.

What is worrying the Congress and its allies is the fact that in the crucial last phase campaign ahead, the court verdict would become the main campaign issue. The LDF leaders have already started highlighting the issue in their campaign, which has acquired a much-needed momentum in the wake of the latest development.(IPA Service)