The Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) has decided to boycott Forest Minister K. B. Ganesh Kumar and Government Chief Minister P. C. George both within and outside the Assembly.
The Opposition alliance has made it clear that the apology tendered by Mr. Ganesh Kumar for his lewd remarks about Leader of the Opposition V. S. Achuthanandan were insincere and, therefore, unacceptable to it. It has also taken strong exception to Mr. George’s derogatory remark about CPI(M) legislator and former Minister A. K. Balan mentioning his caste.
The Chief Minister should immediately remove Mr. Ganesh Kumar from the Cabinet for his ‘disgraceful’ remark about an elder statesman like Mr. Achuthanandan and order registering of a case against him for his statement at a public meeting at Pathanapuram last week implying that the Valakom school teacher was attacked by someone. Mr. George should also be proceeded against under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for his observations about Mr. Balan, LDF convener Vaikom Viswan told a news conference here on Wednesday.
Mr. Viswan, who was briefing the media about the deliberations of the LDF State committee which had met here earlier in the day, said that the Opposition would contemplate legal action against Mr. George for his remarks against Mr. Balan. His observations about the woman sergeant of the Legislature were equally objectionable. The woman had not complained to the police about it only because of her political loyalty, but it called for the widest possible condemnation. The Chief Minister’s stand on both the issues was most deplorable, he added.
The LDF, Mr. Viswan said, also wanted the government to review its decision to release former Minister R. Balakrishna Pillai in violation of prison rules. Going by the Kerala Prisons Act, Mr. Pillai would have become eligible for early release only if he had served at least 8 months out of his one-year jail term. However, he had spent only 69 days in jail. He had spent 85 days in a hospital and has now been released in violation of the law, he said.
The LDF convener said the alliance had also decided to offer support to the nation-wide agitation being organised by 11 Central trade unions, including the INTUC and the BMS, on November 8 and focus its campaign on the continuing price spiral. Asked whether the LDF’s campaign would also focus on the investigation against Mr. Achuthanandan on charges of corruption, Mr. Viswan pointed out that Mr. Achuthanandan himself had clarified that the government could institute inquiries not just against his son, but also against himself. On the Cabinet decision to refer the Valakom case to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), Mr. Viswan said that while the decision was welcome, it would have no meaning if Mr. Ganesh Kumar was also not brought under its ambit.
