The Congress had decided to reshuffle the two-year-old UDF Government, it is leading in Kerala, to give a new vigour to the party in the run-up to the lok Sabha election but it is now realising that it is not an easy task because of the rampant faction war within the State unit as well as objections from coalition constituents to certain reshuffle proposals.
The main purpose of the plan to reshuffle the Cabinet by giving State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala, a Nair (Hindu upper caste) a key portfolio was to pacify certain majority community outfits, which have declared war on the Government for its alleged pro-minorities policy but the bid instead has presented the Congress with two big problems at the same time.
The entire process is in uncertainty for the time being as taking a decision on the portfolio to be given to Chennithala has become virtually impossible thanks to the divergent interests of the opposing groups. At the same time, the issue of choice of the leader to occupy the State Congress president’s post when Chennithala vacates it also has to run into trouble.
The issue is so vexed that even Defence Minister AK Antony, whose words are seldom rejected by the State Congress, is feeling helpless in settling the dispute. After holding discussions with the
top State leadership on the issue the other day, he gave a sense of the toughness of the situation by telling the media that he did not want to be dragged into the matter.
The ‘I’ group of the Congress led by Chennithala wants him to be inducted into the Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister with the charge of the Home portfolio.
But the ‘A” group led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is dead against it. There are even rumours that Chandy even threatened to resign when the proposal was put forward to him by some central leader.
The minimum demand of the ‘I’ group is Home Minister’s post to Chennithala, presently held by Chandy-loyalist Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan but the ‘A’ group is not ready to agree to that either. The ‘I” group is advising Chennithala not to join the Cabinet if he does not get this position, at least.
“The ‘I’ group is being a bit over-smart by demanding the post of Deputy Chief Minister or Home Minister for Chennithala. There is no rule that a Congress chief coming into Cabinet should be given such a post. When then party chief K Muraleedharan was inducted into the Cabinet in 2004, he was given the Power portfolio,” said a close of Chief Minister Chandy.
The objections to the proposal for giving Deputy Chief Minister’s post to Chennithala are coming not just from within the Congress. Finance Minister KM Mani, chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), third biggest UDF constituent, has indicated that any decision involving this post has to be discussed in the coalition. “Even our party deserves that post,” he said.
At the same time, disputes are raging within the Congress over who should be made the State Congress president when Chennithala vacates that position. The names doing the rounds are those of Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan and Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran. Union Minister Vayalar Ravi’s name is also said to be under consideration.
“In the Congress of Kerala, nothing is all that easy,” admitted a senior party leader. “Only the high command can settle such issues, and the ball has already been put into its court. Chennithala will become Minister but the decision will come from the central leadership,” he added.