Pinarayi Vijayan, Ramesh Chennithala cross swords over Kerala Lok Ayukta
While Pinarayi alleges that the Home Minister chaired a high-level meeting attended by Lok Ayukta, Upa Lok Ayuktas and senior government officials to bring the institution under executive control, Chennithala maintains the discussion was convened to address long-pending administrative issues
Chennithala dismissed criticisms of Lokayukta meeting as misleading and unfounded, stating the opposition leader's allegations were akin to describing black as white. He asserted he had not convened the meeting, which the Lokayukta requested due to urgent government intervention needed to address administrative hindrances affecting its operations.
Chennithala noted similar meetings had taken place previously under different chief ministers. He pointed out the latest gathering held on September 23, attended by Lokayukta justices, additional secretaries, and other officials, as routine. Chennithala accused the previous administration of neglecting the Lokayukta's requests for over a decade and highlighted nine matters discussed during the meeting, such as forwarding complaints and petitions, expediting contempt rules, and improving resources for the Lokayukta.
He emphasized that Vijayan's response was a personal denial rather than addressing the core issues raised by the Lokayukta.
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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