Kerala outraged! Centre says state has no right to investigate the Italians

Chennai: The bizarre stand taken by the central government in the Supreme Court on Friday that the Kerala police has no jurisdiction to investigate the Enrica Lexie case, in which two Indian fishermen were shot dead by Italian marines, has raised fresh suspicions of conspiracy to scuttle the case. A startled state was gripped by outrage as the news spread. [caption id=“attachment_283511” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Is there conspiracy to let go of the Italians? PTI”] [/caption] That the submission by additional solicitor general Harin Rawal in the Supreme Court was unnecessary, while the Kerala government’s counsel chose to keep quiet has intensified the suspicion of the people and opposition parties alike. “We told you so” was the tone of the CPM and CPI leaders. They said the Italian influence on India was too strong to bring the culprits to book, and that the Congress were fooling the people of the state. On Friday, when a petition by the owners of Enrica Lexie, from which two Italian marines allegedly shot dead the Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast, for the release of their vessel came up  for hearing, Rawal said that the incident happened at 20.5 nautical miles off the Indian coast and hence the Kerala police has no jurisdictional right to handle it. Indian territory ended at 12 nautical miles. It was not just curious, but plainly shocking that the stand of the centre on Friday and the Italians was the same. Right from the beginning, the Italian government, both politically and legally, has been arguing that India has no jurisdiction at 20.5 nautical miles where the incident allegedly took place. The instant suspicion of conspiracy connected the top political leaderships of Italy and India, and the Catholic Church. Besides the sudden about-turn of the centre, what also raised suspicion was that Kerala’s counsel in the case was changed at the last minute and the state minister who handles legal affairs is KM Mani, an influential Catholic politician. Under rapid fire by opposition and civil society leaders, the Congress immediately rushed to some damage control. Union Minister KC Venugopal, from Kerala, said that the additional solicitor general’s submission in the court was not the centre’s stand. He said he has spoken to foreign Minister SM Krishna and Defence minister AK Antony, both of whom assured him that there was absolutely no change in the centre’s stand. The shipping ministry also reportedly clarified its stand that nothing has changed. If SM Krishna and Antony stand by their position that the Italians must be tried in India according to Indian law, then where did Rawal get his brief? The immediate impact, or the motif if any, of his submission, will be to weaken the Kerala government’s argument on the case. Both the opposition leaders and the state unit of the Congress demanded immediate action against Rawal. Even the Court was annoyed by the additional solicitor general’s submission. The bench apparently asked:  “You are saying Kerala Police doesn’t have jurisdiction? It is very unfortunate and can’t be acceptable. How can you take such a stand? Two Indian citizens have been killed.” Here are some simple questions that the opposition and people in Kerala raised: -   Is there conspiracy to let go of the Italians? -   Is the centre lying? -   Is the Congress government in the state under pressure? Whichever way one looks at it, looks like a free-for-all at the centre.