Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s two-day visit to New Delhi has turned out to be a troubleshooting mission of sorts to save the United Democratic Front coalition from disintegration as a result of a controversy over the status of the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats conservation.
On Thursday, Mr. Chennithala met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Union Minister for Environment and Forests Veerappa Moily, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Union Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal, who is also a well known Supreme Court lawyer, Home Minister Susheel Kumar Shinde, and Defence Minister A K Antony, seeking their intervention in issuing a draft notification related to amendments to the November 13, 2013, order giving effect to the recommendations of the Kasturirangan committee. He also met the Union Environment and Law Secretaries.
Mr. Chennithala is said to have pointed out the problems the UDF and the Congress in particular would have to face in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Kerala Congress (M), an important coalition partner, had also taken a hard line on the issue, leading to a virtual paralysis in the functioning of the coalition.
‘Notification must’At his meeting with Mr. Moily, Mr. Chennithala impressed upon him the imperatives of issuing a draft notification.
Speaking to The Hindu from Delhi, Mr. Chennithala said he had got an assurance from the Union Secretaries that the draft notification would be issued on Friday without fail.
Accordingly, he had informed Kerala Congress (M) leaders K.M. Mani and P.J. Joseph about the developments.
