Thiruvananthapuram: Less than five months after the Congress-led United Democratic Front rode to power in Kerala with 102 seats in the 140-member assembly, rifts between Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and leaders of his own party have spilled into the open.
Several Congress leaders have expressed unease over Satheesan's style of functioning and distanced themselves from his decisions, while the government has drawn flak over administrative lapses and a lack of collective responsibility. After the chief minister's friends-sponsored helicopter trip made headlines, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and some other ministers went on a foreign tour sponsored by their friends. Local self-government minister K.M. Shaji of the Indian Union Muslim League faced allegations that a distillery owner and a builder accompanied him on an unofficial tour of Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland and the UAE.
The latest flashpoint is the CMRL-Exalogic bribery case, with the government accused of taking a soft approach towards former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family. On October 16, Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan walked out of a key party meeting after a heated exchange with the chief minister. Former state Congress chief K. Sudhakaran and UDF convener Adoor Prakash joined him in publicly criticising the government's stand. "If it's a strong government, then it should take action against Pinarayi," Sudhakaran said.
Health Minister K. Muraleedharan defended the chief minister, saying the government had acted legally. The PCC, meanwhile, scrapped its social media unit after it posted a demand for the resignation of the Chief Justice of India, and directed leaders to refrain from controversial public statements.