Kerala’s Congress president Ramesh Chennithala on Monday indirectly rejected the claims made by his main rival in the party, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, regarding the proposal to induct him into the Cabinet through a crucial reshuffle despite the party high command’s strict instruction to avoid making public statements on the issue.
Admitting that there had been discussions on inducting him into the Cabinet, Chennithala told newsmen in Thiruvananthapuram that the media could not be blamed for the reports in this regard. Chandy has been repeatedly saying that reports about the Cabinet reshuffle bid were all creations of the media.
Chennithala admitted that discussions had indeed been held on his induction into the Cabinet but added that details could not be disclosed now as the issue was under the consideration of the party high command. However, he added that he had his own opinions regarding the controversy which he would spell out at the appropriate time and at the appropriate forum.
The proposal to induct Chennithala, leader of the ‘I’ group in the State Congress, into the Cabinet triggered a huge controversy within the party and in Kerala politics after Chief Minister Chandy, heading the ‘A’ group, rejected the ‘I’ group’s demand for making him Home Minister, causing an unprecedented escalation in the faction war.
The ‘I’ group had remained intransigent in its demand for the post of Home Minister to Chennithala - if at all he was to join the Cabinet — after the high command rejected their earlier demand for the position of Deputy Chief Minister saying that the creation of such a post would mean the creation of two power centres in the same Government.
The issue was taken up by the high command several times and its position was that it should be settled in the State party unit itself. However, when three one-on-one discussions between Chennithala and Chandy could produce no positive result, the high command last week decided to intervene and asked the Kerala leaders to stay away from making public statements.
In an indirect dig at Chandy, Chennithala said on Monday that campaigns against him (by the ‘A’ group) would not succeed in tarnishing his popular image. “The post of the PCC president is above all the ministerial positions in the State. Those who know me also know that I am not in the habit of going after positions and power,” Chennithala said.
The proposal to induct Chennithala, a Hindu upper caste Nair, into the Cabinet had come up as a strategy to pacify certain influential Hindu community outfits like the Nair Service Society which had declared war on the UDF Government over its alleged policy of appeasing the minorities and neglecting the interest of the majority communities.