The Hindu : Kerala News : All of Karunakaran's demands cannot be met: Chandy

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Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

All of Karunakaran's demands cannot be met: Chandy

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 6. The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, today made it quite clear that he would accommodate the senior Congress leader, K. Karunakaran's demands only to the extent possible and that he would do only things within his limitations.

He was participating in a meet-the-press programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here. Reacting to the positions taken by the sulking Karunakaran, Mr. Chandy said that it was difficult to satisfy every one all the time. "I cannot do everything that Mr. Karunakaran wants. I can do only those things that are within my purview and within my limitations. All reasonable demands will be promptly met," he said.

Commitment

When asked how he would be able to balance between his commitment to various kinds of people and his commitment to his duty as Chief Minister, Mr. Chandy said that it was true that he had a wide range of contacts. He had had the habit of giving recommendation letters to those who approached him seeking help. He had had the occasion to meet various kinds of people.

`Life, an open book'

"But I take decisions according to my conscience. My life is an open book. You should evaluate my decisions and not my contacts. I could be the only political worker who would have issued the maximum number of recommendatory letters for the benefit of those who approach me for assistance. My commitments as a public servant hardly have a bearing on my decisions," he said, indicating that he was finding the transformation as a political leader to Chief Minister quite difficult.

On corruption, he said that the current mechanism to tackle corruption was effective only up to a certain point. In fact, attempts should be made to remove the circumstances that lead to corruption by simplifying Government rules and regulations.

Corruption

The yardstick for assessing corruption should be whether a decision had resulted in loss for the State exchequer or whether an individual had made any monetary gain. Irregularities of officials should not be the basis for launching corruption charges, he said.

Asked why he had appointed a political secretary after being a critic of such decisions by the LDF Governments, Mr. Chandy said that he had done so with the intention of energising his administration and to provide a forum to handle the problems that elected representatives would like to bring to the Chief Minister's notice.

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