Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 1 (IANS): Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K. Sudhakaran said on Saturday that the party will observe Wednesday (January 4) as 'black day' when Saji Cherian, who stepped down as Minister for Fisheries, Culture and Youth Affairs less than six months back following a row over his alleged remarks insulting the Constitution, is reinstated as a minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet.
CPI-M state Secretary M.V. Govindan said on Saturday that Cherian, after being cleared in a police probe and following the dismissal of a plea seeking his disqualification as MLA by the Kerala High Court, will be brought back into the Cabinet and will be sworn-in on Wednesday.
On July 6, Cherian had to quit as state minister after a huge public outcry over his remarks allegedly disrespecting the Constitution of India at a party meeting held near Pathanamthitta.
The first relief for Cherian came after the local police, which probed the case, decided to close it as it did not any 'merit', and then came the crucial division bench ruling of the high court which dismissed a plea that sought disqualification of Cherian as an MLA.
Sudhakaran said that it's strange that the CPI-M has decided to bring back Cherian into the Cabinet.
"Why was he asked to resign had he done no wrong? His remarks insulting the Constitution are still available in the public domain. We will take legal steps against this move of the CPI-M and also deal with it politically. Hence, we will observe January 4 as 'black day'. The CPI-M has always given scant respect to the Constitution," said Sudhakaran, adding that the main job of the police under Vijayan's government is to give clean chits to CPI-M leaders and cadres.
Meanwhile, state BJP President K. Surendran said that the return of Cherian clearly shows that the CPI-M has no respect for the Constitution.
"We want Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to say that the punishment for anyone insulting the Constitution is only six months. What Cherian did was a clear violation of the oath that he took. The state government will have to pay a heavy price for this act," said Surendran.