Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Former Minister questions CPI stance

Thiruvananthapuram: Any enquiry into the Ponmudi land deal based on the presumption of the Forest Minister’s innocence will turn out to be ridiculous and farcical, the former Forest Minister A. Neelalohithadas has said.

In a statement here on Wednesday, he wanted to know why the CPI was standing in the way of a full fledged enquiry into the issue if it was convinced of the Forest Minister’s innocence.

He wondered why the party had not so far refuted reports that Xavi Mano Mathew had been visiting the MN Memorial in a bid to influence the leaders of the party.

The former Minister said it was in 1999 when he was the Forest Minister that the Forest Ordinance was prepared and placed before the LDF for approval.

The CPI was responsible for postponing a decision. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan who was then the LDF convener should be very much aware of it. Finally, it was after raising the issue through the media, after his resignation in February 2000, that the Government was forced to promulgate it, he added. When people like him tried to raise it as a political issue, that Government was forced to introduce a Bill in the Assembly. He charged the CPI of having appropriated the office and resort in Munnar.

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