The Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) has demanded Forest Minister K. B. Ganesh Kumar’s resignation from the Cabinet for his ‘abusive’ remarks against Leader of the Opposition V. S. Achuthanandan and certain of his observations that gave a ‘new turn’ to the yet-to-be cracked attack on the teacher of the school run by the Minister’s family.
Addressing a news conference shortly after adjournment of the Assembly over the issue on Friday, CPI(M) deputy legislature party leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and other LDF floor leaders said that Forest Minister’s statement at a public meeting at Pathanapuram (his Assembly constituency in Kollam district) on Thursday that Mr. Achuthanandan might have been ‘handled’ during his childhood the way the teacher was handled ran contrary to the police theory that the teacher was the victim of an accident and not an attack.
Mr. Ganesh Kumar’s statement showed that he knew what had actually happened to the schoolteacher. The police must register a case against Mr. Ganesh Kumar and interrogate him, the CPI(M) leader said.
Mr. Balakrishnan pointed out that if such a statement was made by anyone else, the police would have registered a case and interrogated him. This was not being done in Mr. Ganesh Kumar’s case only because he was a Minister. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, he alleged, was shielding Mr. Ganesh Kumar on account of the slender majority, on which his government survived. What Mr. Ganesh Kumar had said about the Leader of the Opposition was something that no Minister should have said whether in the Assembly or outside.
CPI legislature party leader C. Divakaran said that the LDF State committee would meet soon and discuss the alliance’s future course of action on the issue. When pointed out that Mr. Ganesh Kumar had apologised for his objectionable remark, Mr. Divakaran said he should do so at a public meeting at Pathanapuram and not in the Assembly.
