THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the cabinet meeting which approved the amendment ordinance reducing the powers of the Lokayukta, the Chief Minister had informed that the matter could be discussed in detail before the bill is brought in the assembly. As aresult, it was later approved by the Cabinet without any objection.

With the ordinance signed, approved and notified by the Governor, the CPM wants to end the controversy. The CPI has expressed dissatisfaction with the hasty release of the ordinance ahead of the assembly session. That argument also became irrelevant as the ordinance was signed. From now on, the only way forward for the CPI is to strengthen their party stance in the forthcoming discussions on the amendment. The CPI will state its disagreement when the bill is introduced in the Assembly or when the ordinance needs to be reinstated.

The CPI has questioned whether there should be a political consensus within the party before making such an amendment. The ordinance came up for discussion in the cabinet meetings on January 11 and 19. Meanwhile, during the discussion between Kodiyeri and Kanam Rajendran on the 14th, the CPI was provoked as the ordinance issue was not discussed. At the same time, there are indications that there has been no significant discussion on the issue within the CPM. It is learned that the issue was not discussed in the CPM state secretariat before introducing it to the cabinet meeting.

A bill to replace the ordinance is unlikely to be introduced in the coming Assembly. However, the ordinance is valid only for 42 days from the first day of the session. It will be invalid after that. Then it should be re-advertised. At that point, the CPI ministers will have to state the party's opinion in the cabinet meeting. If there is no consensus within the cabinet, it is a crisis for the government. In this situation, the Chief Minister and Kodiyeri are likely to take the initiative to reach a consensus with the CPI and to find a solution to solve the issue.