Tree-felling case: Cong. unsure of the strategy ahead
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The Congress management in Kerala continues to be trying to find methods to politically tackle the Left Democratic Front authorities embroiled in the unlawful tree-felling case.
Already, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and his predecessor Ramesh Chennithala have sought both a judicial inquiry into the case or an investigation beneath the supervision of the High Court. However, a piece of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) management is rooting for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A senior functionary of the Congress mentioned the KPCC had not mentioned the challenge threadbare and devised a standard strategy to counter the authorities. Since each Mr. Satheesan and Mr. Chennithala had publicly demanded a judicial inquiry, the different leaders determined to not take a unique view.
‘Time-consuming’
They consider {that a} judicial inquiry can be time-consuming and be simply confined to the submission of a report with suggestions. However, a probe by the Centre’s premier investigation company would unravel the fact behind the issuance of two Revenue Department orders to fell timber in government-allotted lands.
Besides, the sources mentioned, the CBI can be higher geared up to deal with the probe into the ‘conspiracy’ behind the Revenue order on October 24, 2020, which was a continuation of its earlier order on March 11, 2020. The Revenue orders permitted the chopping of all timber, besides sandalwood, when a number of legal guidelines said that the rights of scheduled timber (teak, rosewood, ebony, and sandalwood) have been vested with the authorities.
‘No consent for CBI’
Sources mentioned Communist Party of India (CPI) leaders E. Chandrasekharan and K. Raju, who have been Revenue and Forest Ministers respectively then, have been in the dock in reference to the orders. However, solely a CBI inquiry would expose the actual culprits who plotted for the issuance of the Revenue orders in order to ‘help the timber lobby and to generate funds for the Assembly polls.’
The earlier Left Democratic Front authorities had withdrawn the consent accorded to the CBI to function in Kerala voluntarily after the Central company determined to analyze corruption costs in LIFE Mission, a housing challenge of the authorities. Now, Congress sources mentioned, an intervention of the High Court was essential to provoke a CBI probe. Already a petition had been moved on this regard. “The KPCC leadership will react at an appropriate time,” they mentioned.
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