The State government appeared to have received a respite from a season of unfavourable news on Tuesday with the Kerala High Court slapping a two-month stay on the CBI inquiry into the contentious Life Mission-UAE Red Crescent contract to build and deliver 140 dwellings for low-income families at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the interim order vindicated the government’s position that Life Mission had no role in the award of the contract to any particular builder.
He dismissed the contention of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the High Court had refused to grant the government a clean chit.
The High Court had upheld the government’s argument that the CBI had “erred” in registering a case against “anonymous” Life Mission officials under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The court also saw merit in the government’s averment that Life Mission did not accept foreign aid from the sponsor.
Mr. Vijayan said the Congress and the BJP were birds of the same feather. They had in tandem attempted to lay down a smokescreen of lies to discredit the government’s flagship programme to provide free housing for the poor.
The government had soaked up a seemingly relentless cycle of adverse publicity after court documents revealed that the UAE consulate linked gold smuggling case accused had profited hugely from the Life Mission project.
The Opposition parties had repeatedly accused Mr. Vijayan of using the heft of his office to aid the economic offenders. Left Democratic Front (LDF) covener A Vijayaraghavan welcomed the verdict and hoped it would shut the mouth of the Opposition and their enablers in the mainstream media.
However, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said Mr. Vijayan’s sense of victory was misplaced and fleeting. The High Court had rejected the government’s plea to quash the FIR filed by the CBI. The judge had given a reprieve to the government merely for technical reasons.
BJP State president K. Surendran said the court had allowed the CBI to forge ahead with its probe into the FCRA violation.
