The State was not in favour of the Centre's plea to the Supreme Court to dispose off pending proceedings in the Enrica Lexie case, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He termed it unfortunate that the Italian marines were not being put on trial in India. The State government would convey its views to the Centre, he said, reacting to the latest developments in the case during his customary COVID-19 media briefing.
“It is unfortunate that they are not standing trial in India. The media has reported that our country failed to present its case strongly and that lapses have occurred,” he said.
In the matter of compensation, the Indian government needed to adopt strong follow-up action, he said.
The Centre has totally failed before the international tribunal in ensuring punishment for the Italian marines, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said. The State government should impress upon the Centre the need to oppose the tribunal's decision, he said.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran also blamed the Centre for failing to ensure justice for the kin of the dead fishermen. The Centre was responsible for restricting the punishment to mere compensation, they said.
