THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to hasten the process of A. K. Saseendran's return to the Cabinet, NCP state president T. P. Peethambaran on Thursday called on LDF convenor Vaikom Viswan to discuss the issue. Mr Peethambaran who returned from New Delhi on Wednesday after meeting party supremo Sharad Pawar, went straight to Kottayam to meet Mr Viswan at the CPM district committee office. "Talks with the convenor were fruitful. There is no hurdle in Saseendran's return to LDF ministry," he said after the meeting.
The NCP leader later in the day met CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran and discussed Saseendran's re-entry. Both CPM and CPI have already made it clear that they have no objection in inducting Mr Saseendran in the Cabinet after he got a clean chit from P. S. Antony commission which probed the phone sex allegations involving the former minister.
The NCP had taken a decision earlier that among Thomas Chandy who resigned recently following allegations of reclamation of lake and encroachment and Mr Saseendran, whosoever got clean chit first, would become a minister. The NCP leadership said even Mr Chandy while taking over as minister had made it clear that in case if Mr Saseendran got cleared of the charges, he would pave the way for his entry in the Cabinet. Meanwhile, after the initial bravado by Mr Chandy in publicly announcing that he would challenge the High Court verdict in Supreme Court, the former minster seems to have now developed cold feet. He has remained tight-lipped over the issue since his resignation.
