Legal hurdles: VS will have to wait further for his ‘rehabilitation.'
- PIL against the appointment of VS as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission with cabinet rank.
- Kerala Assembly had passed an amendment to clear the legal troubles in appointing him with cabinet rank.
- The government going slow on the appointment.
- The opposition objected to the amendment saying that it would be a gross misuse of public money to settle the internal problems of the CPM
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Though the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government passed Kerala Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualifications) Amendment Bill last week to pave the way for the appointment of veteran Communist leader VS Achuthanandan as the chairman of the proposed Administrative Reforms Commission with cabinet rank, he will have to wait further for assuming the post. Putting another legal hurdle, a Kochi-based lawyer filed a public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Thursday in the Kerala High Court questioning the credentials of the communist leader to hold the office of the chairman of the commission.
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As per a Supreme Court order, the appointments to government posts must be made as per guidelines and based on qualification. But the government has not revealed the selection process or the qualification required for the chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission, the petitioner pointed out. As per the affidavit submitted before Election Commission, Achuthanandan’s highest educational qualification is 7th grade. In this context, the government must clarify the qualification required, the selection process and then issue a gazette notification before the appointment, he demanded.
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Meanwhile, the cabinet meeting on Wednesday did not take up the topic as it could not reach a consensus on the matter. The cabinet is likely to consider the appointment of Achuthanandan only after a final decision was taken on the structure of the proposed commission, the number of members and its terms of reference.
Earlier, the Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPM) decided to ‘rehabilitate’ the nonagenarian who was the star campaigner of the party and the LDF in the Kerala Assembly elections, after the party selected Pinarayi Vijayan for the post of Chief Minister. The opposition had raised serious doubts about the government move to appoint Achuthanandan as the chairman of the commission and alleged that it was an exercise to suppress factionalism in the CPM.
