Thrissur : Minister for Cooperation G. Sudhakaran has said he was withdrawing the `harsh words' he used against the former Devaswom Principal Secretary E. K. Bharat Bhushan.

Addressing a meeting to distribute loans for farmers and launch Web site of the Thrissur District Cooperative Bank here on Saturday, the Minister said he was told from some quarters that he had used harsh words against the senior IAS officer.

`I stand by my remarks'

"There was opinion that the criticism was harsh. I too feel so. I uttered words that I should not have. So, I am withdrawing those words. But I stand by the general remarks I had made against the official. In olden days, wrongdoers had their fingers chopped off. This is not possible these days. The only thing possible is strongly-worded criticism,'' the Devaswom Minister said.

He refuted the allegation that he had `insulted' Sara Joseph.

``My statement against K.R. Gouri was misreported and misinterpreted,'' he said.

Decision on probe

Staff Reporter writes from Thiruvananthapuram: The Cabinet will take a decision on the request made by the Minister for Devaswom for an investigation into the allegations made by Mr. Bharat Bhushan.

The former Principal Secretary, who had proceeded on Central deputation, had alleged that the Minister had withheld the report of a Vigilance inquiry against members of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

Replying to questions at a press conference on Saturday at the venue of the workshop on 'Responsible Tourism', Minister for Home and Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said Mr. Bharat Bhushan had violated the code of conduct by raising allegations against Mr. Sudhakaran through the media.

`Service rules flouted'

"The former Principal Secretary should have avoided the remarks. It is a violation of service rules. The Minister need not show the report to the Principal Secretary.

"And in this case, he had personally handed over the file to me as I was holding charge of Vigilance," Mr. Balakrishnan said.

The Home Minister detailed the movement of file from September 28, 2006 to October 28, 2006 and said the allegations made by Mr. Bharat Bhushan against the Minister had no grounds.

"There has been no lapse on the part of the Devaswom Minister," the Home Minister added.

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