Public persons should not be corrupt: CPI(M)

The CPI(M) was of the view that public persons, political leaders and those holding high positions should be free from corruption, the CPI(M) Kerala State secretariat said in a statement referring to the controversy arised with regard to the former CJ K J Balakrishnan. CPI(M) state secreteriat said the LDF government had issued instructions to the authorities concerned to take cognisance of the allegation that Youth Congress leader Sreenijin had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known income on account of this stand.

Mr. Sreenijin had contested the last Assembly elections as a Congress candidate. The allegations against him had resulted in a furore in the Congress and Youth Congress.

The party did not wish to interfere in this, but there would also be no delay on the part of the LDF government in acting on issues that demanded legal and administrative interventions.

The Chief Minister and Home Minister had referred the complaint against Mr. Sreenijin on this basis.

The CPI(M), the party secretariat said, had no hesitation in reacting to issues that contravened the party stand that public persons, political leaders and persons holding high offices should be above corruption.

The allegations against the former Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, were now before the Supreme Court. If there was any merit in the complaint, it was for the Centre and the court to take action.

Misunderstanding

This being the case, the former judge of the Supreme Court, V.R. Krishna Iyer's, allegation that the CPI(M) was observing silence on the issue was the result of misunderstanding.

The Congress and its allies were also using the issue to attack the CPI(M), but they had no moral right to do so as the party and the UPA government were reeling under the Common Wealth Games, Adarsh Flat, 2 G spectrum scams and the disclosure of the Income Tax Tribunal that middlemen had pocketed Rs.41.2 crore in the Bofors deal, the CPI(M) secretariat said.