After a meeting with the ethics committee on Tuesday, Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac has said there he has not violated the rights of the Assembly in the publishing of CAG report against Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).
“I have not violated the rights of the Assembly as a minister and I am aware of what was said outside the House about the CAG report,” Isaac told reporters after the hour and a half long meeting with the committee.
“Parts of the report were released for public discussion and no wrongdoing has taken place,” Isaac said, adding that there is no change in the stand taken in the CAG report. The Finance Minister also said that he is ready to accept the decision taken by the Ethics Committee.
The controversy started when Isaac criticized the CAG’s ‘draft’ report against KIIFB and then released the report publicly. Initially, the finance minister said it was only a draft report but later confirmed it was the final report. The Ethics Committee will be placing the findings report and the CAG report before the Assembly during the budget session on January 8.
Earlier this year, Congress MLA VD Satheesan had filed a complaint against Isaac for violating his right as a minister by releasing the CAG report before it could be tabled in the Assembly. In an unusual move, Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan forwarded Satheesan’s complaint to the committee, chaired by A Pradeep Kumar. The committee consists of five LDF members and three UDF members.