Why is Kerala CM reluctant to take legal action against Swapna Suresh’s 'baseless' allegations?

Despite Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the UAE consulate smuggling case, piling up allegations against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan while he called them “baseless”, he is yet to initiate legal action against Suresh.

Hence, like the Opposition of Congress-led United Democratic Front and the media keep asking: Why hasn’t Pinarayi gone the legal route, and filed a defamation suit against Suresh?

While the Chief Minister has not given a clear answer, sources suggest that the delay in hearing defamation suits could be the reason why Pinarayi is reluctant to make that move.

According to a senior lawyer in Kerala, even if the allegations (and their effects) last only a few days, defamation suits could be prolonged and cause more damage. Eve noted jurist F S Nariman used to dissuade clients from filing defamation suits because of the delay involved, the lawyer said.

A CPM leader, who didn’t want to be named, too, said that filing defamation suit might not be practical as the case could drag, and the outcome might not be favourable.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader V D Satheesan asserted that the Chief Minister should accept Suresh’s dare that he makes public the CCTV footage of his office and residence. Satheesan repeated the Opposition’s demand for a CBI inquiry.

A day after the Chief Minister reiterated in the Assembly that the allegations against him were baseless, Swapna challenged the Chief Minister to make public the CCTV footage of his office and residence. She even made fresh allegations incriminating the Chief Minister’s daughter, Veena Vijayan.

Sources said that the Opposition planned to file a breach of privilege petition against Pinarayi in the Assembly, accusing him of misleading the house.

The Opposition has been repeatedly asking the Chief Minister why he didn’t move the court if the allegations against him and his family were untrue. Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan even provided digital evidence to incriminate Veena.

In a recent interaction with the media, Pinarayi quite rudely told the press people that he would be the one to decide whether to take legal action, or not.