Thiruvananthapuram 7th September : Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala has brought with it tension-filled moments for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vjayan this year, since the Supreme Court is set to hear the CBI’s appeal in the critical SNC Lavalin case on September 13.Two of the courts had previously dismissed the defendant in the trial.
A negative decision from the apex court requesting Vijayan to be tried would mean the end of Vijayan as the court had ruled in 2006, in 2006, when the CBI declared him the accuser in the trial, then general secretary of the CPI-M Prakash Karat had held that because Vijayan is not a holder of any constitutional position, he is not required to resign as CPI-M’s state secretary.
If he is asked to stand trial an investigation, he might have to quit for all practical reasons.
On August 25 the bench of Justice U.U.Lalit ordered the registry to publish the trial in the case for September 13, stating that it shouldn’t be put off.
Vijayan was cleared of being an accused in both the CBI special court in the capital city of the state and also the Kerala High Court in 2017.
In December 2017 In December 2017, the CBI approached the Supreme Court contending that Vijayan should be tried in the case.
However hearings kept getting delayed due to one reason or another.
The hearing in 2021 was set aside four times.
The case concerns the loss of Rs 374 crore in the Kerala State Electricity Board’s (KSEB) contract with SNC Lavalin, a Canadian company SNC Lavalin for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasal, Sengulam and Panniar hydroelectric projects in Idukki district in 1996 during the time that Vijayan was the Power Minister in the cabinet of E.K.Nayanar.
Since then the beginning of the year, the Congress in Kerala has been making noises about that there was a secret agreement between major players of the BJP in Delhi and Vijayan as the investigation was progressing at a snail’s speed.
Notably, following an unqualified chit from the High Court in 2017, Vijayan who has a hard time interacting with the mediaimmediately, demanded the media to meet and also attacked the Oommen Chandy government that in 2006 transferred this case to CBI shortly before the Assembly elections of the time.
Sources in the know of allegations that M.B.Rajesh who was Speaker of the Assembly was appointed in as Minister on Tuesday, in spite of the vacant position for a Minister in the cabinet Vijayan didn’t play with the portfolios.He has chosen to wait for decision of the court.
State Education Minister V.Sivankutty’s fate is also uncertain as he has been summoned to appear before a local tribunal in this city on Wednesday, where the report of charges of him and his fellow five of their involvement in vandalism in the floor of the Assembly in 2015 will be read out.
When this occurs, Sivankutty too in all likely will have to retire and two more faces are likely to take over Sivankutty and one who was left empty by Saji Cherian.
“If the situation doesn’t turn out as planned for Vijayan, he will have to step down and only Rajesh was elected in on Tuesday.
The CPI-M national leadership is watching closely the unfolding of things, so in the event that Vijayan is forced to quit there will be a major changes,” said the source under the an unsecured basis of confidentiality.
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