Kerala’s richest minister on the way out
HC comes down heavily on controversial transport minister
TRIVANDRUM: Kerala High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the southern state’s controversial transport minister Thomas Chandy putting a question mark on his continuance.
The minister representing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) moved the court against an oficial report conirming land grab for his resort in the backwater gateway of Kuttanad.
Justice Deven Ramachandran, who was part of the two-member bench headed by Justice PN Ravindran that heard his petition, held that his act questioning the indings of the district collector, TV Anupama, was “unconstitutional”.
He wondered how a minister could move the court against his government and if there was a collective responsibility among the ministers.
Ravindran refrained from making any adverse remarks in his judgment while Ramachandran decided to write a separate verdict that had almost sealed the fate of the minister.
NCP general secretary TP Peethambaran said his party’s national leadership would decide on this while chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said he had to see the judgement before concluding.
“I understand the two judges had made different observations. I have to examine them,” Vijayan told reporters here. “There will be an appropriate decision at the appropriate time.” The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leads in Kerala had last week left it to Vijayan to decide with the Communist Party of India (CPI), its second largest constituent, toughening stand against the minister.
After the court verdict, the CPI leaders, including its secretary Kanam Rajendran, minced no words while suggesting that the minister should go.
Many feel since the ministers had resigned in the past on lighter observations from the court, he is left with no option but to quit. They also include some of his cabinet colleagues like works minister G Sudhakaran who made their displeasure public.
The last resignation of a minister for adverse remarks in a court judgement was that of former inance minister KM Mani when Justice Kamal Pasha referred to a proverb, “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.”
Thomas replaced his party colleague AC Shanmughadas who had to resign after being caught in a phone sex trap laid by a television channel in April. The NCP has no other legislator to replace Chandy.