Pillai to formally seek Ganesh's withdrawal


Even as the leadership of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) grapples with the Indian Union Muslim League's demand for a fifth berth in the State Cabinet, Kerala Congress(B) leader R. Balakrishna Pillai has decided to formally seek the withdrawal of his son and party's sole nominee, K.B. Ganesh Kumar, from the Ministry.


The Kerala Congress (B) State secretariat will meet here on Friday to ratify the decision, after which a formal letter seeking the withdrawal of the ‘rebel' Minister will be submitted to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.


The party is also considering the legal option of invoking the provisions of the anti-defection law against Mr. Ganesh Kumar as part of its bid to force the issue of his removal from the Cabinet.



Mr. Pillai has apparently taken cue from KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala's comments on the status of Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s party congress to contend that the UDF should not carry the burden of leaders who did not have the support of their respective parties.


Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Pillai said he had consulted legal experts about the possibility of invoking the provisions of the anti-defection law with regard to Mr. Ganesh Kumar.


He was being forced to take a hard stand against his son because the proposed conciliatory talks promised at a UDF meeting 10 days ago had not yet materialised.


In the meantime, attempts have been made at the initiative of the Nair Service Society general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair to sort out the issues between the father and son. Mr. Pillai had formally brought up the issue of his son's withdrawal from the Cabinet at the April 4 UDF meeting. But Mr. Chandy and Mr. Chennithala advised him to go slow on this with the promise that they would hold separate talks to sort out all issues.


Mr. Pillai turned against his own Minister after he had refused to toe the party line. Mr. Pillai had also complained that Mr. Ganesh Kumar was not implementing the directions of the party. He had alleged that the Minister had not been attending party meetings for quite some time now and was even threatening party workers.


Kerala Congress (B) sources suspect that a section of the Congress is extending tacit support to Mr. Ganesh Kumar, which has, in fact, emboldened him to take an open stand. Many of the members of the personal staff of the Minister were connected to the Congress party.


Similarly, one of the private secretaries of the Minister is a former employee of the Harrisons Malayalam group, which has high stakes in the forest sector of the State, they allege.


Mr. Pillai's success in invoking the anti-defection law to bridle his son would depend a lot on the attitude of Speaker G. Karthikeyan.


The party is not averse to considering moving court if it fails to get a favourable order from the Speaker. Sources point out that there are several options before the party, including issuing a directive to the Minister to resign or a whip for the Rajya Sabha biennial election.

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