India News | Congress, BJP Seek Minister Cherian's Resignation After Kerala HC Order

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi, Nov 21 (PTI) The Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala and the BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation or dismissal of State Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian from his Cabinet post after the Kerala High Court ordered a further investigation into allegations that he "insulted" the Constitution during a speech at an event in July 2022.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said whether the minister should resign or not "depends on one's own conscience".

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Khan refused to comment any further on the matter, saying that he was not aware of the views of the government and the minister and that he was not going to sit in judgement over the High Court's decision.

Rejecting the demands for his resignation, Cherian said that further steps would be decided after going through the order.

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Earlier in the day, after the High Court pronounced its verdict, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan demanded Cherian's resignation from his ministerial post.

Satheesan said that Cherian influenced the probe in the case by using his post as minister and therefore, he should either resign or Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should remove him from the position.

"He (Cherian) should never have been reinstated in the Cabinet. It was a wrong decision by the CM. The HC verdict indicates that the decision to reinstate him was wrong," he contended.

The HC has said that the probe should be carried out by an unbiased officer, he claimed.

"But how can an honest and unbiased probe be carried out if he is still the minister? The situation is worse than what it was back then," Satheesan said.

A similar demand for Cherian's resignation was made by BJP leader V Muraleedharan who said that if the minister continues in his post, an impartial probe will not be conducted.

Muraleedharan also alleged that the police have taken a favourable stance towards Cherian in the investigation despite clear evidence indicating the offence committed by him.

He also pointed out that it was the CPI(M) Polit Bureau and Vijayan who always wanted Narendra Modi to uphold the Constitution.

Cherian, on the other hand, said that there was no question of morality or ethics now as was there back in 2022 when he had resigned from his post following the allegations against him.

He said the issue had already been investigated by the police, a final report was given and the magisterial court had accepted it and therefore, there was no need for him to resign on the basis of morality.

"One court accepted the report. The High Court set it aside. There is the provision of appeal. There is a court above it (HC)," the minister said.

He further said that since the issue involved him, the High Court, as part of natural justice, ought to have heard him also.

"Since the HC did not hear my side, I will take further steps after going through its order," he said.

Cherian also claimed that the HC only commented about the probe carried out by the police and not on the alleged remarks by him.

"It has ordered a further probe. Let it happen. There is nothing to be concerned about," he added.

Cherian's speech had created a political storm in the state with the opposition demanding that he resign or be sacked, which finally resulted in his resignation from his Cabinet posts on July 6, 2022.

He was later reinstated in the Cabinet.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)