Pushed to the wall by mounting public criticism and the Kerala High Court’s sharp observations against him, beleaguered Transport Minister Thomas Chandy on Wednesday tendered his resignation on a day of high drama.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) nominee in the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Cabinet sent in his resignation to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through NCP State president T.P. Peethambaran shortly after conclusion of the weekly Cabinet meeting which the CPI, the second largest contingent in the LDF, boycotted in protest against his continuation as Minister.
The High Court had, on Tuesday, come down heavily on Mr. Chandy for having acted against the ‘collective spirit of the Cabinet’ by filing a writ petition seeking quashing of the Alappuzha District Collector’s report on the alleged land law violation by the resort owned by him in the district. Mr. Peethambaran and Mr. Chandy called on the Chief Minister at his residence to seek more time so that they could consult the party national leadership. But their attempt to gain time proved futile soon with the four CPI Ministers refusing to attend the Cabinet meeting.
CPI sends note to CM
Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan sent in a note to the Chief Minister explaining their party’s decision to stay away from the Cabinet. Following this, the Chief Minister advised Mr. Chandy not to delay his resignation any further, but still granted him time to consult his party colleagues and national leaders.
The NCP leaders went into a huddle at Mr. Chandy’s official residence, but there was very little the NCP could do in the face of the firm stand by the CPI. Finally, Mr. Chandy sent in the resignation letter. The Chief Minister forwarded it to Governor P. Sathasivam, who immediately accepted it.
Later, talking to the media, Mr. Chandy lashed out at the CPI leadership, accusing it of having breached coalition propriety and insisting that he would return to the Cabinet once cleared of the charges.
