CM declines to comment; CPI-M ministers rally behind Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan has declined to comment on Governor RS Gavai's decision allowing CBI to prosecute Vijayan in a graft case even as most of the CPI-M ministers in LDF Cabinet have come out in support of the party state Secretary.
    
Achuthanandan, who had been at loggerheads with Vijayan for long in the party, declined to comment on the Governor's decision overruling the cabinet's advise in the SNC-Lavalin graft case and said that "the party will discuss the matter".
    
In sharp contrast, the party's state leadership, controlled by Vijayan, did not wait for a moment to mobilise the rank and file to come out in protest against the Governor's decision. The sharpest attack, however, came from Home Minister Kodiyari Balakrishnan, alleging that Gavai's act of ignoring the state cabinet amounted to breach of constitutional norms.

Terming the Governor's decision as very 'rare', Law Minister M Vijayakumar had said it was a 'serious legal problem'. Education Minister M A Baby said CPI-M would fight the case legally with Vijayan continuing as party state secretary.
    
What is being keenly watched by political circles is how the cabinet is going to react when it meets tomorrow, since Achuthanandan and his party nominees are apparently having divergent views on the graft case. Significantly, none of the LDF partners have commented on Vijayan's case.