Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 Former Kerala Home Minister and senior Congress legislator, Ramesh Chennithala, on Friday, served a breach of privilege notice against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing him of misleading the state Assembly with "false and unsubstantiated" claims regarding disciplinary action within the police department.
The notice, filed under Rule 154 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, comes in the wake of a heated discussion on police excesses in the floor of the Assembly between the Opposition and Treasury benches, early this week.
While responding to Congress MLA Roji M. John, the Chief Minister had said in the House that since 2016, as many as 144 police officers involved in serious criminal misconduct had been dismissed from service.
Chennithala, however, contested the claim, saying that Chief Minister Vijayan failed to provide any list of names, ranks, or supporting details of such dismissals.
"The figures quoted are baseless. Even the Home Department has no official records to back the Chief Minister's statement," the senior Congress leader charged in his notice.
He also argued that contrary to Chief Minister Vijayan's assertion, many officers accused of grave offences or recommended for dismissal continue to serve in key police postings.
"The majority of those dismissed were not criminals but personnel absent without leave or on prolonged unauthorised absence," Chennithala said.
Citing replies given by the Chief Minister himself in the Assembly earlier this year, Chennithala highlighted contradictions.
In January, Vijayan admitted that 18 officers facing action for alleged links with criminal gangs remained in service, while 14 suspended for similar charges had been reinstated.
In another reply in March, Vijayan conceded that consolidated details of criminal cases against police officers over successive governments were "not available".
Chennithala also accused the Chief Minister of deliberately distorting facts to tarnish the previous UDF-led Kerala government.
"Between 2011 and 2016, 61 police officers were dismissed for disciplinary and criminal violations. Yet the Chief Minister claimed no such action was taken during the Congress-led UDF's tenure," he said.
Describing Vijayan's figures of 144 dismissals across his two Chief Ministerial terms as "factually incorrect and misleading", Chennithala urged the Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer to allow him to move a breach of privilege motion.
"It was a conscious attempt to misguide the House without placing authentic records," he alleged.
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