KOCHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The controversial decisions taken by the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in its last few days, including the Methran Kayal project, was one of the prime reasons for the UDF’s defeat in elections, Opposition leader and former home minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Tuesday. “I am ready to concede that a few decisions taken at the last meeting of the Cabinet caused the setback,” Mr Chennithala told reporters.
The former home minister also said that it was not right on the part of the government to bring some of these issues as “out of the agenda” before the Cabinet. All these issues will be evaluated by the KPCC, he said. The delay and controversies in connection with the selection of candidate list was also a reason for the setback, he said.
Mr Chennithala also said that there was no move for the removal of the KPCC president in connection with the defeat in the polls. The poll debacle in the state and other issues are under the serious consideration of the Congress High Command, he added.
Attacking the Pinarayi government, Mr Chennithala said that the first thing the LDF did was to banish the former chief minister and veteran CPM leader to a corner. “It is for VS to take a decision on whether he should continue as an MLA or not,” he added. Mr Chennithala has also rejected the contention of the CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan that the UDF has lost its mass base.
“Despite LDF fielding millionaires as independent candidates, the Indian Union Muslim League managed to retain most of the seats,” he said. The claim of CPM that LDF has received more votes compared with the previous election is not correct when we take into account the nearly 30 lakh new voters in the state.
“Although 30 lakh new voters cast their votes in the polls, the LDF has received only 9 lakh more votes,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, in Thiruvananthapuram, it was confirmed to this newspaper that it was Mr Chennithala who insisted at the Cabinet meeting during the fag end of the UDF ministry that the they should issue an order in the first week of March for reclamation of 378 acres of the 'Methran Kayal backwaters' wetland at Kumarakom village in Kottayam district and 47 acres of paddy fields at Kadamakuddy in Kochi.
A top government official in the then UDF government vouched to DC that when Mr Chennithala insisted that the Government Order should be taken, rest of the Cabinet ministers remained mum. Former revenue minister Adoor Prakash told this newspaper that let the Cabinet sub-committee led by culture minister A.K. Balan committee enquire on the controversy related to the Methran Kayal project.
