Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 27 (PTI) As the Congress-led UDF accused the Left administration in the state of trying to commute the sentence of three convicts in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case, the Kerala government alleged it was a controversy created by some officials for the benefit of the opposition.
State Minister for Local Self-Governments and Excise M B Rajesh said the government was going to examine whether some officials were working to further the politcal interests of the opposition.
The minister said that forwarding names of prisoners, who were ineligible for remission, to be considered for commutation of sentence was not a honest mistake and therefore, action has been taken against the officials involved.
The government on Thursday ordered suspension of the jail officials who allegedly included three convicts from the high-profile T P Chandrasekharan murder case in a remission list.
Rajesh also said that ever since the controversy erupted over the purported move by the government to grant remission in sentence to three convicts in the murder case, the Left administration has been clarifying that there was no such attempt made by it.
The government’s stand is clear from the letter of the Additional Chief Secretary, Home, and the press release of the Head of Prisons, he said.
The Additional Chief Secretary, Home, had on June 3 directed the Head of Prisons to submit a revised list by strictly following the norms after finding names of prisoners ineligible for remission in the list of convicts to be considered for commutation of sentence.
The Head of Prisons had issued a press release on June 22 stating that the final list of those eligible for remission will be provided to the government after removing the names of those convicted for killing Chandrasekharan.
“So, when the opposition submits in the House that a constable called (K K Rema) to seek her opinion, their intention is clear from that. The opposition’s aim was political. The government is being blamed for something it did not even think of,” Rajesh contended, while speaking to reporters in the assembly complex here.
The minister further claimed that only the opposition would benefit from such a controversy.
It was an opportunity created by some officials for the benefit of the opposition and action has been taken against them.
The minister also said that the decision to commute the sentence of a convict is taken by the state cabinet which has in the past rejected recommendations by district and state-level committees headed by retired judges.
“The government has burst the soap bubble created by the opposition with the help of some media groups,” he contended.
Rajesh claimed that despite the government’s clarifications that it had made no such attempt, neither the opposition nor some members of the media were willing to accept it.
Chandrasekharan (52), leader of the Revolutionary Marxist Party, was hacked to death by a gang while he was returning home on his bike in 2012.
Earlier in the day, in the assembly, the opposition accused the state government of still attempting to grant remission to the three convicts in the case and demanded its assurance that the sentence of the prisoners in question will not be commuted for any reason whatsoever. PTI HMP HMP ROH
About the Author
