Kerala Minister's anti-Constitution remarks trigger row
Pathanamthitta(PTI): Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan has harshly criticised the Constitution, saying it "condones exploitation" and is written in a way helping to "plunder" the people of the country, drawing sharp reaction from the opposition which sought for his immediate removal from the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF cabinet.
The state Fisheries and Cultural Affairs minister was speaking at a recent political programme at Mallappally in this southern district and the issue came to light after visuals of the speech were aired by regional television channels on Tuesday, drawing criticism.
"We all say that we have a beautifully written Constitution in India...the most significant aspect of the country. But, I will say, a beautiful Constitution, which can serve to loot the most number of people, was written in the country," he said.
The minister also alleged that the Constitution of the country was "compiled by the British' and it was written as such by an Indian which has been implemented in the country for the last 75 years.
Values like "secularism" and "democracy", the "kuntham and kodachakram" (spear and wheel) were just inscribed on its (Constitution) sides, he added.
The minister said he won't agree with anyone who preaches the other way in the country.
Stating ours is a country which does not accept workers' protests, he said "Indian Constitution is one which condones the (labour) exploitation the most," and claimed this was the reason certain "millionaires" in the corporate sector have grown in the country.
Cheriyan's remarks did not go down well with the Opposition Congress and the BJP.
Strongly criticising his remarks, KPCC president K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan urged chief minister Vijayan to remove Cheriyan from the cabinet or face stringent legal action.
"By insulting the Constitution, Saji Cheriyan violated the Oath of Office. He not only humiliated the architects of the Constitution but also insulted values like secularism and democracy. He should resign.. or he should be shunted out from the ministry. Otherwise, we will seek legal measures against him," Satheesan said.
BJP state president K Surendran also sought the immediate removal of Cheriyan and said he has no moral right to continue in the position even for a second.
He further alleged that it was Marxist party leaders' disrespect for the Constitution that had come out through Cheriyan's words.
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Who is Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, appointed acting president after crash?
Dubai (AP/PTI): Iran's first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president of the Islamic Republic on Monday after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country's northwest.
Raisi's death under the constitution thrust Mokhber into public view. He is expected to serve as caretaker president for some 50 days before mandatory presidential elections in Iran.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the announcement of Mokhber's appointment in a condolence message he shared for Raisi's death in the crash Sunday. The helicopter was found Monday in northwestern Iran.
Despite his low-key public profile, Mokhber has held prominent positions with in the country's power structure, particularly in its bonyads, or charitable foundations.
Mokhber oversaw a bonyad known in English as the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, or EIKO, referring to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The US Treasury said the organisation oversaw billions of dollars in assets as “a business juggernaut under the direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that has a stake in nearly every sector of the Iranian economy, including energy, telecommunications, and financial services”.
“EIKO has systematically violated the rights of dissidents by confiscating land and property from opponents of the regime, including political opponents, religious minorities, and exiled Iranians,” the Treasury said in 2021 in sanctioning Mokhber. The European Union also had sanctioned Mokhber for a time with others over concerns then about Iran's nuclear programme.
As the head of EIKO, Mokhber oversaw an effort to make a COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the pandemic, pledging to make tens of millions of doses.
Mokhber previously worked in banking and telecommunications. He also worked at the Mostazafan Foundation, another bonyad that's a major conglomerate that manages the country's mega-projects and businesses. While there, he found himself entangled in a bitter legal dispute between mobile phone service providers Turkcell and South Africa's MTN over potentially entering the Iranian market.
Iranian media reports suggest Mokhber, who holds a doctorate in international law, was crucial in Iranian efforts to bypass Western sanctions on its oil industry.
Mokhber has been a member of Iran's Expediency Council since 2022, which advises the supreme leader, as well as settles disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, Iran's constitutional watchdog that also oversees the country's elections.
Mokhber was born Sept 1, 1955, in Dezful in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province to a clerical family. He served as an officer in the Revolutionary Guard's medical corps during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, according to the pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran.
“Mokhber used the vast wealth accumulated by EIKO — at the expense of the Iranian people—to reward regime insiders like himself,” UANI said. “Managing the patronage network endeared him to the supreme leader, but at a cost.”
