Kerala land grabbing case: At end of rope, Thomas Chandy puts in papers

Thiruvananthapuram: Transport minister Thomas Chandy on Wednesday stepped down after a controversial term lasting less than eight months.

The decision followed the high court strictures on Tuesday against him and the no-nonsense approach adopted by the second biggest coalition partner of the ruling front, the CPI.

The fate of the NCP leader was sealed after Alappuzha collector T. V. Anupama indicted him for paddy conversion and wetland filling. The nearly three-month-long controversy also brought to the fore the sharp differences between CPM and CPI which handles the revenue portfolio.

Mr Chandy, the wealthiest MLA with assets worth Rs 92.37 crores, is the third minister to resign from the 18-month-old LDF government. Earlier industries minister E. P. Jayarajan had to quit on nepotism charges and C. K. Saseendran after a honey trap.

He left for Alappuzha in his official vehicle with the police escort after entrusting his resignation letter to NCP state president T. P. Peethambaran Master.

The chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, later forwarded the letter to Governor P. Sathasivam who accepted it.

The seventy-year-old was left with no option after chief minister reportedly told him at the morning meeting in Cliff House that it would be proper for him to resign.

NCP sought time to discuss the issue with their national leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, and after getting their approval, they conveyed the party decision to Mr Vijayan.

It took almost five hours after the Cliff House meeting for Mr Chandy to finally step down. Even after resigning, the former minister continued to maintain that he was not guilty of encroachment or any other violations as cited in the collector’s report.

He said he would move Supreme Court on Thursday to get the adverse observations of the high court removed. Meanwhile, Peethambaran Master clarified that the resignation was not conditional.

“It is a resignation, and that’s that. There are no conditions attached to it,” he said.

When asked about Mr Chandy’s statement that he would be back in Cabinet after coming clean, he said: "It is only a natural course.”

To a question whether Mr Saseendran would be the first choice if he gets cleared, he said that too was natural.

Mr Chandy had also made this clear that whosoever gets cleared by the court first would be the minister. In case if Mr Saseendran is cleared subsequently, Mr Chandy would pave the way for his installation as minister.