Thiruvananthapuram : CPM state secretariat on Sunday asked chief minister V D Satheesan to clarify his stand on former governor Rajendra Arlekar ’s recommendation to the President to dissolve the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).
CPM said there were established legal procedures for taking action against PSC members, but the governor had not followed them. The govt had informed the high court that the investigation had found nothing so far, though the court had made certain critical observations, the party said. The party said the governor had no authority to recommend the dissolution of the PSC and was bound to act on the advice of the state govt. Alleging that the Sangh Parivar was targeting PSC after universities in the state, CPM called for strong protests against what it described as “governor’s rule” that reduced democracy to a mere spectator. It said the move would be challenged both politically and legally. The party said the governor was expected to act on the advice of the state govt but had repeatedly bypassed it, including in the PSC issue.
In a statement, CPM termed Arlekar’s move unconstitutional and illegal and questioned whether the Congress supported it. The party also asked whether the chief minister shared the Congress’s national-level position on what it described as politically motivated actions by governors. It pointed out that a special investigation team was already probing allegations of irregularities in the preparation of a PSC rank list. It asked whether the govt had requested the governor to make such a recommendation when none of the allegations had been proved or substantiated before a court. Accusing the state govt of yielding to the Sangh Parivar, CPM referred to the farewell accorded to Arlekar by the govt and the chief minister’s expressions of warmth towards him. It also alleged that several decisions, including the appointment of university vice-chancellors, were part of an understanding involving BJP and RSS.