Isaac appears before House panel

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac on Tuesday appeared before the Privileges and Ethics Committee of the Legislative Assembly in connection with the alleged leakage of a CAG audit report on the Kerala Infrastructure and Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

Dr. Isaac appeared before the nine-member committee headed by A. Pradeep Kumar, after Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan had referred a breach of privilege notice moved by the Congress legislator V.D. Satheesan against the Finance Minister.

The Speaker’s decision came after Dr. Isaac appeared before him and gave explanation sought on the basis of the notice moved under Section 159 of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.

Mr. Satheesan, who is chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), had moved a notice against Dr. Isaac stating that he had infringed on the rights of the House by prematurely disclosing the details of an audit report of the KIIFB for 2018-19 by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) at press conference before it was tabled in the Assembly.

It is the first time that a breach of privilege notice against a Minister was referred to the Privileges and Ethics Committee for scrutiny by the Speaker in the State.

Talking to mediapersons after appearing before the committee, Dr. Isaac said he did not commit any breach of privilege. “It is the CAG who had violated the guidelines. As Minister, I had to oppose the CAG, a constitutional body”, he added.