Saturday, Sep 13, 2003
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Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram
By Girish Menon
The two Ministers expressed the view that the Marad rehabilitation should be carried out by September 18 and any further delay would only be construed by the Opposition parties as an attempt to woo the voters for the September 23 Ernakulam by-election, they said. They argued that no one should be given with an opportunity to make political capital out of the Marad issue and the best way out was to begin rehabilitation even earlier than September 18. The Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, gave a brief of what the Government had done on the Marad issue. He informed his Cabinet colleagues that the Government had shown great patience in dealing with various political parties, particularly the BJP and the RSS. It had done so with the intention of ensuring a lasting and peaceful solution to the Marad issue. The attempts of the Government had not succeeded and the time has now come to take action. The High Court had also now directed the Government to rehabilitate the victims, he said and asked his Cabinet colleagues to express their views. It was during this exercise that the two Ministers expressed their opinion. However, the majority decision was that the Government should begin the rehabilitation on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, which was the most apt in terms of timing. And this carried the day. The two Ministers did not press with their views and the rehabilitation package was passed unanimously. The opinions of the two Ministers reflected the veteran Congress leader, K. Karunakaran's thinking, which is to corner the Government on a vital issue that could appeal to Muslim electors in the Ernakulam constituency. Significantly, the Kozhikode DCC, which is controlled by Mr. Karunakaran's protégé, Veerankutty, has decided to join a joint-campaign with the LDF to demand rehabilitation of the Marad victims. The Cabinet decision, according to the Chief Minister's supporters, would virtually neutralise the DCC's moves, which could be embarrassing in view of the electoral battle between the Congress and the LDF for the Ernakulam Lok Sabha seat.
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