The personal animosity between Forest Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar and government Chief Whip P.C. George that spilled over to public domain has left the United Democratic Front government visibly embarrassed both in the Assembly and outside.
The root cause of the difference of opinion between Mr. Kumar and Mr. George, who till the other day were thick friends, is not known but the Minister’s candid remarks on the floor of the House on Tuesday during the course of his reply to a notice for an adjournment motion moved by Opposition member V. Chenthamarakshan related to the takeover of estates in Nelliampathy did provide the spark for the animosity to become public.
Apparently, it hit Mr. George where it hurt, leading to his rather unseemly outbursts.
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The slanging match between two has come as a headache for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who appeared to have left behind the problems of communal equations he had to face over the induction of the fifth IUML Minister in his Cabinet and the controversy over the status of 33 Malappuram schools. Mr. Chandy’s initial response was to gloss over the row between the two. “There are no issues in the UDF that cannot be sorted out,” he told the media who sought his response. However, he cannot ignore the fallout of the open fight as it questions his proud claim that his ministry had set a benchmark for its collective responsibility.
The interesting part is that the Opposition did not question the contents of the Minister’s reply to a notice for the adjournment motion. Mr. Chandy, it appears, is inclined to support his Cabinet colleague rather than Mr. George on the issue of government takeover as the Minister had only reiterated the government’s stand that had been announced by him in the Assembly.
Now that Mr. Chandy is in receipt of Mr. Ganesh Kumar’s formal complaint submitted in writing, he will be forced to act on it. The Chief Minister has not revealed his mind on the course of action he proposed to take.
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