Kerala CPI(M) State Secretariat rejects Opposition demand for Minister Saji Cherian’s resignation

Fri Nov 22 07:51:50 UTC 2024: ## Kerala Minister Saji Cherian to Remain in Post Despite High Court Order

**Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala –** Kerala’s Minister for Culture, Saji Cherian, will remain in his post despite a High Court order quashing a police report that cleared him of charges of disparaging the Constitution. The court has instead directed the Crime Branch to re-investigate the 2022 incident.

Law Minister P. Rajeeve, speaking on behalf of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], stated that the party sees no grounds for Cherian’s resignation. The government plans to appeal the High Court’s decision. The court’s order, Rajeeve noted, was passed without hearing Cherian’s side.

The controversy initially led to Cherian’s resignation in 2022, but he was reinstated in 2023 following a lower court’s acceptance of the police report. However, the Opposition parties, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are demanding his immediate resignation, staging protests including marches and effigy burnings.