Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Kerala Congress(J) MLAs back Joseph

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress (J) leader V. Surendran Pillai, MLA, has refuted reports in a section of the media that there is a sharp division in the party over reinstating party chairman P.J. Joseph in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Cabinet and that he is angling for the slot.

Mr. Surendran Pillai told a news conference here on Friday that the party was unanimous that Mr. Joseph should return to the Cabinet and disclosed that a KC(J) office-bearers’ meeting had authorised the high-power committee of the party to take a decision on these lines.

Mr. Surendran Pillai, who is a second-time legislator and, therefore, senior of the two remaining KC(J) legislators, reported to be vying to become the party’s Minister in the Achuthanandan Cabinet, said he did not wish to become a Minister replacing Mr. Joseph. The KC(J) chairman had stepped down on his own from the Cabinet and not as demanded by the Chief Minister, the LDF or the Opposition, he added.

He said it was only natural that Mr. Joseph should return to the Cabinet if he was cleared of the charges against him being investigated in Chennai. The party had informed the Chief Minister about this.

The findings of the investigation in Chennai should be the last word on the issue since the woman who had accused Mr. Joseph of having misbehaved with her had herself stated that she would be satisfied only with a police investigation in Chennai. This also foreclosed the option of a judicial probe which was first mooted by Mr. Joseph himself, he added.

Staff Reporter writes from Kottayam: Kerala Congress (J) MLA Mons Joseph on Friday said “there were no two opinions in the party about our candidate to represent the party in the Cabinet. We all want Mr. P. J. Joseph to be our candidate”.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr. Mons Joseph, whose name was in circulation as a probable candidate, said such reports were baseless. The name of Mr. P. J. Joseph had been decided in the larger interests of the party and the State, he said.

The KC(J) leader said that the party was convinced of the innocence Mr. Joseph (in the alleged misbehaviour towards a lady during a flight from Chennai to Kochi), and said that “as such we believe that the Tamil Nadu police will exonerate him in their investigation”. The party was also of the opinion that there was no relevance for a judicial inquiry if the Tamil Nadu police exonerated him, Mr. Mons Joseph said.

He also pointed out that the Cabinet had differences of opinion with the report submitted by Inspector-General of Police B. Sandhya after an inquiry into the incident and it was against this fact that the Cabinet decided to institute a judicial inquiry. The request in this regard was made by Mr. Joseph himself. The decision could be annulled through another Cabinet decision, Mr. Mons Joseph said.

The Kerala Congress leader refused to be dragged into a controversy over the statement made by party general secretary Scaria Thomas to the effect that seniority would be the sole criterion for selection of ministerial candidate. Such incidents would be looked into by the relevant party mechanism, he said.

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