Opposition demands Saji Cherian’s resignation

Minister rules out resignation, says single Bench ordered Crime Branch inquiry without hearing his side. Leader of the Opposition warns of vigorous protests in Assembly and outside if Minister continues in office

The Kerala High Court’s order for a Crime Branch investigation against Minister for Culture Saji Cherian for his alleged remarks disapproving of the Constitution in 2022 has spurred the Opposition to demand his immediate resignation.  

Mr. Cherian has “lost the moral and legal right to hold office”, according to Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan. Warning of vigorous protests in the Assembly and outside if Mr. Cherian continued in office, Mr. Satheesan said the words of Mr. Cherian in Pathanamthitta in 2022 echoed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue M.S. Golwalkar’s stance that a “borrowed” Constitution did not serve the country’s people.  

Mr. Satheesan said the High Court had found prima facie evidence that Mr. Cherian had denigrated the country’s haloed founding document. The judiciary had vindicated the Opposition’s stance in the Assembly and outside. 

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran said Mr. Cherian’s continuation as Minister would render the High Court-ordered Crime Branch inquiry “a sham.” 

Kerala BJP president K. Surendran sought the ouster of Mr. Cherian from the State cabinet and read the High Court order as a slap across the face of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan “in whose interest Mr. Cherian was reinstated into the Cabinet”.  

Cherian rules out quitting 

Meanwhile, Mr. Cherian ruled out resigning from his post. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, he said a single Bench of the High Court had ordered the Crime Branch inquiry without hearing his side. “I have the right to appeal before a Division Bench. I respect the High Court’s prerogative to hear or not to hear a respondent,” he said.  

Mr. Cherian said the High Court had not considered the case’s merit. It had merely ordered an inquiry. “The High Court had simply quashed the police report exonerating me of any wrongdoing. I am not a party to the case. So, there is no ground for me to quit office,” he added.  

Massive uproar against the allegedly disparaging statements made by Mr. Cherian against the Constitution at Mallapally in Pathanamthitta in 2022 had resulted in his resignation from the Cabinet. Later, he was forced to tender an apology. The police gave him a clean chit and in December 2022 pleas seeking his disqualification as a legislator were dismissed by the High Court following which he was reinstated into the Cabinet in early 2023.  

Will seek legal opinion: CPI(M) 

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary M.V. Govindan ruled out the possibility of Mr. Cherian’s resignation. He said the government would seek legal opinion and take a call later. 

Published - November 21, 2024 09:28 pm IST