Kerala Governor gives nod for Saji Cherian to be re-inducted as minister

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, on Tuesday, January 3, said that he has approved Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's recommendation to re-induct Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader Saji Cherian as minister, as the CM's advice is binding on him. Khan told reporters that whatever he had to say to the Chief Minister regarding Cherian's induction has been stated, and he will not be discussing that before the media.

"Ultimately, I accepted the CM's recommendation and we will have the swearing-in tomorrow. Even yesterday, I had said that in these matters his (CM) advice is binding on me," the Governor said. Khan's decision comes a day after he said that Cherian's induction was ‘not a normal case’ and therefore, he needs to examine the documents related to it. Cherian will be administered the oath of office on Wednesday at 4 pm, an official source said.

Meanwhile, the Congress continued to oppose the decision to re-induct Cherian into the state Cabinet. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly and senior Congressman VD Satheesan said that the decision to re-induct the CPI(M) leader was "unethical". He also questioned the logic behind the decision and said that the opposition was not going to accept it.

"We will strongly oppose it and will even adopt legal recourse," he said and added that no one from UDF would attend the swearing-in ceremony. “Why did he resign if he said nothing in violation of the law or the Constitution?,” Satheesan asked.

Talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Cherian claimed he did not say anything in violation of the law or the Constitution. "It was you (media) who kept saying that I said something unconstitutional. In order to uphold the dignity of my party, I did not hang on to my post and resigned in the face of the allegations against me," he said.

Cherian further said that the Kerala High Court on December 8, 2022 had dismissed two pleas seeking a declaration that he was not entitled to hold the office of MLA in view of his speech. A division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice S Manikumar had held that no provision could be found in the Representation of People Act, 1951 to disqualify the MLA. Referring to the verdict, Cherian said it proves that he committed no illegality and therefore, he can continue as MLA. "Then, why cannot an MLA become a minister?" he asked.

He also claimed that there are no pending cases against him in any court in the state. The CPI(M) leader had resigned in July last year from the state Cabinet over his alleged remarks against the Constitution during a speech in Pathanamthitta district and the lodging of a criminal case against him in that connection. Subsequently, the ruling CPI(M) decided on December 30, 2022 to bring him back into the Cabinet and sent a letter to the Governor the next day seeking his convenience for administering the oath of office to the MLA on January 4.

Khan, who returned to the state on Monday, had said that he needed to go through the papers related to Cherian's reinstatement into the Cabinet as it was not a normal case. He had said that in normal circumstances, it was essential for the Governor to accept the recommendation of the Chief Minister. "But, this is not a normal case. He (Cherian) is not being inducted for the first time. It is a case which is totally different," Khan had said.

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criticised the CPI(M)’s decision to reinstate the legislator as a minister and termed the move as unacceptable and anti-constitutional. The Congress said it would observe January 4 as a 'Black Day'. Cherian's speech had created a political row in the state with the proceedings of the Assembly being suspended for a day due to protests by the Opposition demanding that he resign or be sacked and finally resulted in his resignation from the Cabinet.