[1]Thiruvananthapuram: KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala has decided to remain tight-lipped for a few more days, until the rain havoc subsides, about his frustration over chief minister Oommen Chandy’s blocking his chance to join the cabinet. But he told DC that he has been overwhelmed by the massive support for his decision not to join the UDF government.
A peeved Chennithala didn’t hide his feelings towards his bête noire by saying that Chandy had publicly announced seven times that he would definitely be joining the cabinet.
“Chandy has been repeatedly saying that I should join the government, but when it is not acceptable to me, I decided not to join. However, I am indeed feeling happy and wherever I go, people are congratulating me on my decision. My current priority is to lead the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and emerge victorious,” he said.
Though he was expected to speak at the ‘meet-the-press’ arranged by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club on Monday, the tragedy at Idukki prompted him to postpone it. The other day, Kerala Congress (M) Chairman and Finance Minister K.M. Mani had demanded at Kottayam that Chennithala should join the cabinet after the discussions with the Congress high command came a cropper.
Sources close to Chennithala said he would be replying to Mani’s comments at an appropriate time soon.
Meanwhile, the ‘I’ camp is still fuming over what had transpired and it held a meeting at KPCC general secretary Saratchandra Prasad’s home on Tuesday. They opined that Chandy is being misled by his party men, especially a leader like KPCC general secretary Thampanoor Ravi, who has been repeatedly humiliating Chennithala.
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/flood-kerala0jpg-506