The Hindu : Front Page : New Ministers on Monday

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Saturday, Aug 15, 2009
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New Ministers on Monday

Special Correspondent

Ministers-designate: Jose Thettayil, P.J. Joseph and Kadannappally Ramachandran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress (S) and the H.D. Deve Gowda faction of the Janata Dal (Secular) will get a Ministerial berth each in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala and their representatives are to take the oath of office on August 17, along with Kerala Congress (J) chairman P.J. Joseph, who is to take over as Public Works Minister from his party colleague Mons Joseph.

The LDF State committee met here on Friday to take this decision. Briefing the media, LDF convener Viakom Viswan said that Kadannappally Ramachandran had been nominated by the Congress (S) as its representative in the V.S. Achuthanandan Cabinet.

The State executive of the Janata Dal (S) faction met here later in the day to select Jose Thettayil as its nominee. The faction’s only other MLA Mathew T. Thomas (former Transport Minister) proposed Mr. Thettayil’s name at the meeting, according to party sources.

Portfolios

Mr. Viswan said the question of which portfolios the Congress (S) and the Janata Dal (S) faction were to hold would be decided through consultations.

Mr. Joseph is returning to the Cabinet after being cleared by the court in a case alleging misdemeanour towards a woman. When he stepped down in September 2006, his party colleague T.U. Kuruvilla became the Public Works Minister. Mr. Kuruvilla stepped down in October 2007 following allegations pertaining to a land deal. Since then, Mons Joseph was the Kerala Congress (J) representative in the Cabinet.

The Congress (S) had not been in the Achuthanandan Cabinet previously.

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