Speaker G. Karthikeyan remains cool after triggering heated political debates by announcing his intention to quit office. He knows he has set the cat among the pigeons as it were, but it has helped in identifying friends and foes. In any case, Mr. Karthikeyan is guarded in his reactions as he does not want to drag the Speaker’s post into a controversy. “I made my intention very clear. I expressed my desire to quit not because I wanted some other position. Now it is for the party leadership to take a decision,” he said reiterating his stand when asked for his reaction.
His supporters, however, feel there is no disqualification in occupying the ministerial chair after being the Speaker of the Assembly. There have been several occasions in the past when Speakers have moved to the State secretariat. Sources pointed out that P.P. Thankachan demitted office to become a Minister in the Antony Cabinet in 1995. Vakkom Purushothaman quit as Speaker to become a Minister.
Mr. Karthikeyan has never jostled for positions and been content to wait till opportunities came his way, as it did in 1995 when he was inducted as Minister for Power in the Antony Cabinet that assumed power after a virtual upheaval in the Congress. He became minister once again under Mr. Antony’s stewardship.
Being a four-term legislator qualified him for a berth in the Chandy Cabinet, but the changing equations pushed him behind in the pecking order. The one advantage Mr. Karthikeyan has is that the nomination to the Speaker’s post is part of the ministry-making formation that includes communal balancing. Therefore, the party leadership would have to consider his claims while considering a Cabinet reshuffle.
