The decision of the Kerala Cabinet to order vigilance and criminal investigations against former Chief Minister and Congress leader Oommen Chandy and colleagues in the solar panel scam based on the G Sivarajan Commission report is motivated. Retired High Court Judge Sivarajan submitted his four-volume report running into 1,073 pages on 26 September.

Neither the CPI-M Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, nor his Left Democratic Front Cabinet colleagues, busy campaigning in Malappuram district for the by-election to the prestigious Vengara Assembly seat, had the time to read the voluminous report. The Cabinet on 11 October decided to take action against those indicted in a report which is yet to be made public. Although there is no legal ban on publishing the report before presenting it in the Assembly, announcing action taken on it or to be taken with disclosure of select portions at a press conference by the Chief Minister is a breach of the Assembly’s privilege.

The CPI-M is edging closer to joining the Congress-led opposition at the national level as an alternative to the BJP behemoth, but the Kerala unit of the party, backed by former general secretary Prakash Karat, is opposed to the idea. Vijayan, a Karat camp follower, wants to sabotage the unity move as the Congress is the main rival of the CPI-M in Kerala.

With a view to embarrassing the Congress, Vijayan has constituted a Special Investigation Team headed by the North Zone DGP Rajesh Dewan to register criminal cases against Chandy and others while the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau will hold simultaneous investigation into the bribery allegations. A couple, Sarita Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan, floated Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions, a Kochi-based company.

Claiming proximity to the ruling elite, they duped NRI Keralites and smalltime businessmen in the state of several lakhs of rupees promising to make them partners in their ‘lucrative’ venture. The couple apparently befriended Tenny Joppen and Jikkumon Jacob who were on the personal staff of Chief Minister Chandy, and Salim Raj, gunman of Chandy. With such “highlevel” contacts and extending favours in certain select cases, the couple ran the solar energy business. Chandy has been in politics for four decades with an unblemished record.

During his long political career he had been the Home Minister, Finance Minister and the Chief Minister twice. One Bangalore-based Kerala businessman, who parted with more than Rs 1 crore to the couple believing they had the patronage of the former Chief Minister, filed a criminal case against Chandy in which he was acquitted a few days ago.

The only political leader Vijayan is afraid of is Chandy. The CM hopes to dent the image of Chandy by this hurriedly taken Cabinet decision of 11 October.