Kerala Congress(B) chairman R. Balakrishna Pillai on Tuesday justified his party’s demand for re-induction of his son K.B. Ganesh Kumar in the Chandy Cabinet as the latter had given an assurance to party workers and him (Pillai) that he would abide by directives of the party.
Replying to questions at a meet-the-press programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club, Mr. Pillai said there was no legal bar against Mr. Kumar’s induction into the Cabinet.
Mr. Kumar had resigned following cases related to his marital problems but these had since been withdrawn on the basis of an agreement arrived at between him and his wife. He had submitted a letter seeking his induction in this context, Mr. Pillai said.
Mr. Pillai made it clear that the “controversial” persons who were members of Mr. Kumar’s staff, while he was a Minister, would not be included. His party was eligible for a ministerial berth because it was a coalition partner, he added.
Mr. Pillai came down heavily on an editorial published by the IUML organ, stating that the adverse remarks in reference to NSS leaders, including general secretary G. Sukumaran Nair, were in bad taste. The NSS had decided to observe restraint because it was determined not to vitiate communal relations. When asked to decode the reasons for Mr. Nair’s opposition to the UDF led by Oommen Chandy, Mr. Pillai said had the Congress high command executed the terms of an agreement it had entered into with the NSS on the eve of the Assembly elections in 2011, the current political tussle would not have taken place and Mr. Chandy need not have gone to Delhi for a solution.
