THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor M O H Farook has given his assent to the ordinance promulgated by the UDF Government to protect Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan and chief whip P C George from the Office of Profit Clause, even as the Opposition Leader in New Delhi on Thursday termed the move to club his post with the chief whip as ill-motivated and purely intended to save George. That the Governor has given his assent at a fast pace when compared to the history of many other ordinances over the years buttresses the claim that the government wanted to avoid any embarrassment, especially with the provision on the retrospective effect to the move. The Central Election Commission is all set to give a verdict within days on a complaint filed by former MP Sebastian Paul against George on the holding of dual office issue. Interestingly, it is the Governor’s office itself which has forwarded the complaint received from Sebastian Paul to the CEC, who had moved against George but reserved the same against Achuthanandan. Since the formation of the Parliamentary Affairs ministry in the state in 2001, going by a national policy, the chief whip post was abolished. M M Hassan took over the portfolio in the A K Antony ministry in 2001 and M Vijayakumar (CPM) was in charge in the succeeding V S Achuthandandan ministry, whereas the portfolio currently rests with Oommen Chandy in the present dispensation.Coming down heavily on the State Government’s decision to issue an ordinance to protect chief whip P C George from coming under the ambit of office of profit, former Speaker and former Law Minister M Vijayakumar said that the decision is a challenge to the principles enshrined in the Constitution. He said the All-India Chief Whips conference held more than a decade ago had decided to form a Parliamentary Affairs Department and appoint a minister to handle it. “So there is no scope for a chief whip post and it would not stand scrutiny, legally or constitutionally. The present chief whip post and 29 staff working under him is totally unnecessary and is a waste of public money,’’ said Vijayakumar. He said that the move by the State Government to also include the opposition leader within the ambit of the new ordinance was a mere eyewash that the UDF adopted to save George.Meanwhile, former MP and media critic Sebastian Paul wrote a letter to the Governor M O H Farook, asking him not to sign the ordinance with a retrospective effect.
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