29 March 2014, 05:28 PM IST
Any adverse remark from a court of law during an election campaign has the potential to damage the prospects of those who are at the receiving end, considering the reverence that voters have for the legal system. The Kerala high court's scathing remarks against chief minister Oommen Chandy in a land grab case that allegedly involves his former office staffer and gunman is likely to put the CM on the back foot.
So far, the Lok Sabha election campaign in Kerala has been searching for an issue that could become a focal point. It is here now.
There was none, not even the row surrounding the implementation of Kasturirangan panel report had energized the campaign especially when both the leading political formations, LDF and UDF, are anti-Kasturirangan, thereby leaving no option for the voter on that issue.
The HC's observations that the office of the Kerala chief minister has been turned into a den of criminals should sting the UDF in this election. All the more so, when Chandy had upped the ante earlier by saying the elections would be a referendum on the performance of his government and he would be solely responsible for Congress's and UDF's show. That bold gambit may boomerang on him now.
For LDF, HC's remarks are a godsend. Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has branded Chandy "shameless" and CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has called for the resignation of the chief minister.
What has stunned Chandy is not the HC verdict of handing over the Salim Raj land grab case to CBI. In fact, the CM can claim that the government had told the court that it was in favour of a CBI investigation.
But the court's remarks that "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" have put him clearly on the defensive. These have the potential to damage Chandy politically a great deal. That the CM had to sack Salim Raj and a few other aides from his office staff when struck by the Solar Scam lends weight to the court's remarks.
Simply put, on Friday, Chandy was blindsided. Elsewhere in India, Chandy would not have had much trouble brushing aside HC's remarks in a case where he has not 'committed' any offence. Not in Kerala. Chandy owes an explanation to the people other than saying his life is an open book, or else they would judge him harshly at the hustings. That would be a verdict without an appeal.
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