Keralam Wants to Reopen an Old File on the CEC. Is This Fair?

Here is a story that feels like it came out of an old cupboard.

The Congress-led government in Keralam says it is firm on an anti-corruption probe into the MC Road project. This project was done nearly two decades ago, around 2006. At that time, Gyanesh Kumar, who is now the Chief Election Commissioner, was the Public Works Department secretary in the State.

PWD Minister P.K. Basheer said there is a need for a fresh probe into the corruption allegations.

The timing is the first thing I noticed

Let me be honest. The timing is hard to ignore.

Right now the opposition across India is fighting the CEC over the voter roll revision. There is talk of a “public impeachment”. There is a big rally on November 1. And exactly now, a Congress government wants to look into a road project from twenty years ago.

Anyone can connect these dots. And the BJP will surely say this is pure political revenge.

But wait. Timing is not proof of innocence.

At the same time, I ask myself a simple question. If there really was corruption in a public road, should it be ignored just because the officer is now in a high post?

No. Nobody is above the law. Not a minister, not an IAS officer, not the CEC. If there are genuine questions, they should be answered. The higher the office, the cleaner the record should be.

Where I stand

I stand in the middle, and I am not ashamed of that.

If Keralam has real evidence, let it go to an independent agency and let it be investigated properly. Not through press conferences. Not through leaks to TV channels. Through proper legal process.

If this is only a pressure tactic, then it is wrong. Using investigations as weapons is exactly what the opposition accuses the Centre of doing. You cannot complain about it in Delhi and do the same in Thiruvananthapuram.

The bigger damage

What worries me most is the damage to institutions. The Election Commission is supposed to be the referee of our democracy. When the referee itself becomes the centre of a political war, the whole game suffers.

People start believing nothing is neutral. Every officer has a side. Every probe has a motive. That cynicism is dangerous. It slowly kills faith in democracy.

My appeal

To the Keralam government: if you have a case, make it clean and strong. Do not let it look like revenge.

To the CEC and the Commission: answer questions openly. Transparency is the best defence.

To all of us: let us not decide guilt on WhatsApp. Let facts come out first.

Do you think this probe is about justice or about politics? Maybe it is a bit of both. Let me know what you feel.