Chandy hints at cabinet rejig to prop party image

By Ashraf Padanna/ThiruvananthapuramKerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy yesterday hinted at a cabinet reshuffle amidst repeated call for his resignation by the Leftist opposition and a section of the media in view of the ‘solar scam’. After bilateral meetings with key allies of his Congress party, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Mani), Chandy said there was no crisis in the ruling coalition and things would improve after he returns from New Delhi next week. Chandy was speaking to the media along with his party’s Kerala chief Ramesh Chennithala and P P Thankachan, the convener of the United Democratic Front (UDF) that the Congress party leads in Kerala.Chennithala would be leaving for Delhi on Saturday to attend a meeting of the party’s state chiefs called by Congress party president Sonia Gandhi while the chief minister will reach the national capital the next day. The Congress leadership is likely to give a green signal to induct Chennithala as home minister, replacing Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, whose image has taken a beating in the scam in which a couple defrauded many investors offering a stake in solar plants and windmills. The crisis in the ruling coalition began after Chennithala staked claim to either the deputy chief minister or home ministry post but Chandy was reluctant to drop Radhakrsihnana as his popularity was on the rise thanks to effective probe into the sensational murder of Communist rebel T P Chandrasekharan.“There will be detailed discussions with the party high command on Sunday and Monday where all outstanding issues would be solved,” Chandy said without elaborating. “The leadership will talk to the coalition partners on improving the performance of the UDF after that”.The Congress party, upbeat after a survey by a national channel which found party’s prospects improving in the south, is upset over infighting in the state which helped intensify the solar scam.The coalition partners have also warned the party leadership to set its house in order as the general elections are less than a year away. They expect Chennithala’s induction to cheer the powerful caste-based groups which are at odds with the government.While Chandy said all options were open, Chennithala said the final decision, including who should head the government, would come from the party’s ‘high command’. The IUML, the second largest ally with 20 legislators in the 73-member UDF bandwagon, has put its weight strongly behind the beleaguered chief minister and ruled out Chandy’s replacement. “There is no need at all to discuss the resignation of the chief minister. It has no relevance at this juncture,” said E T Mohamed Basheer, IUML general secretary.