“I have left everything on the cabinet reshuffle to the high command and they will discuss (with all concerned) and take a final decision”
By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
The venue of talks over the induction of state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala in the Kerala cabinet has been shifted to New Delhi. Chennithala has been camping in the capital for the last five days.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty and Finance Minister K M Mani are leaving for the national capital this evening for talks with the Congress high command.
Kunhalikutty leads the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest partner of the Congress-led ruling coalition and K M Mani heads the third largest constituent, Kerala Congress (M).
“I have left everything on the cabinet reshuffle to the high command and they will discuss (with all concerned) and take a final decision,” Chandy told reporters here.
“There is no crisis in the government. Everybody is awaiting the high command decision”.
Chandy earlier held talks with P P Thankachan, convener of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Socialist Janata Dal (SJD) leader M P Veerendra Kumar, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John (Revolutionary Socialist Party-B) and Food Minister Anoop Jacob (Kerala Congress-J).
“We’ll take all our partners into confidence before taking any further steps. I’ll also talk to R Balakrishna Pillai (Kerala Congress-B), the Janathipathya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS) and the Communist Marxist Party (CMP),” said Chandy.
The chief minister was in Delhi earlier this week along with Chennithala but they could not make much headway as the top leadership, including party president Sonia Gandhi, were preoccupied with other important issues like the creation of the Telangana state.
In Delhi, Chennithala met Defence Minister A K Antony and the two held talks for nearly 30 minutes.
Antony reportedly told Chennithala the party high command wanted him to be in the Kerala government which has been plagued by infighting and poor image following the ‘solar scam’.
“We discussed political issues concerning the state. I was not able to meet Antony earlier as he was down with fever,” the Congress leader said. “We discussed all matters and I’m staying back in Delhi as asked by the high command”.
Chandy had met Antony and Sonai Gandhi’s political secretary, Ahmed Patel, and held detailed discussions on the revamp before air dashing back to the state capital for chairing a meeting of the lawmakers from the state to discuss the agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session and two cabinet meetings.
Chennithala is hoping to get an appointment with Gandhi today.
The Kerala cabinet recast had been delayed as Chennithala was insisting on the creation of the post of deputy chief minister or replacement of Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan as home minister.
The IUML, which has 20 legislators in the 73-member ruling coalition, has been resisting any move to undermine its second position while Radhakrishnan, a close confidante of Chandy, is not ready to part with the powerful portfolio entrusted with him in an earlier reshuffle.
“Such a suggestion (of bringing Chennithala into the cabinet as deputy chief minister) is not before us. Let the Congress party’s decision come, we will then take an appropriate decision,” said IUML general secretary K P A Majeed.
Kunhalikutty had earlier maintained that his party had expressed its opinion on the issues affecting the Congress and the UDF. “We do not want a public debate on these issues whether positive or negative,” he said.
The IUML ministers had held the post of deputy chief minister in the 1982-87 Karunakaran government, at first C H Mohamed Koya, the father of social welfare minister Dr M K Muneer, and later after his death, Avukkadher Kutty Naha, whose son P K Abdurabb is the current education minister.