Fate of tainted Kerala minister to be decided month-end

By IANS

Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala’s ruling Left is to decide on Aug 30 the fate of “tainted” Public Works Minister T.U. Kuruvilla, putting at rest media speculation that the minister would be asked to step down Friday following allegations that he had cheated a Kuwait-based businessman in a land deal.


Support TwoCircles

From the morning the residence of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and the party headquarters of the Communist Party of India-Marxist was abuzz with activity.

Kuruvilla’s son and daughter arrived at the residence of Achuthanandan and handed over a memorandum stating that their father is innocent.

“My father is innocent and there is no cheating as alleged by the businessman Abraham. All the documents we have given to the chief minister,” Eldo Kuruvilla, his son, told reporters after meeting Achuthanandan.

Later, at a hurriedly-called meeting of the top brass, the CPI-M decided that it would be better for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) alliance to decide the fate of Kuruvilla during a meeting on Aug 30.

Meanwhile, Kuruvilla attended the afternoon weekly cabinet meeting.

Addressing reporters after the cabinet meeting, Achuthanandan said that he was looking into the entire issue.

“You don’t worry, you will soon hear about what my decision is on this issue. There will not be any new team appointed to look into the allegations. I have everything with me and very soon you will hear the correct decision from me,” said Achuthanandan.

Businessman K.G. Abraham this week accused Kuruvilla of cheating him in a deal to transfer a plot of land in Munnar that is in the name of the minister’s three children. Kuruvilla, a first-time legislator from Kothamangalam constituency in Ernakulam district, belongs to the Kerala Congress (Joseph) party.

His party chief and former minister P.J. Joseph told reporters here that the decision would be taken by the LDF.

Trouble for Kuruvilla started last month when treasury bench legislator P.C. George alleged a fraud in the land deal with the businessman and gave a written complaint to Achuthanandan. The chief minister asked Idukki district collector Raju Narayana Swamy to probe the matter and the inquiry revealed Wednesday that the deal was a fraudulent one.

Swamy again visited the village office Friday where the deal was registered and confiscated all the government records and transferred all the officials on suspicion that the documents could have been manipulated.

Abraham, meanwhile, went public Wednesday saying Kuruvilla and his son-in-law Sudhip John, who was the general manager of Abraham’s business in Kuwait, had struck a deal to sell to him 50 acres of land in the picturesque hill station of Munnar in Idukki district to build a world-class resort.

As part of the deal Abraham had given Rs.67.5 million as advance money. Abraham said he was given to understand that the minister’s three children owned the land, but later Abraham found out that Kuruvilla’s children were buying land at a low price and selling it to him at inflated rates.

The land he was to buy was meant only for cardamom cultivation and not for construction, he said.

Meanwhile, P.C. George said that LDF members in informal talks felt that Kuruvilla should step down to save the image of the government.

But reports indicate that the LDF has decided to delay the resignation because if Kuruvilla steps down now then the media, which has played up the case, will take credit for it.

Kuruvilla became a minister almost a year back when party chief Joseph stepped down as minister after he was alleged to have misbehaved with a woman on board a flight from Chennai to Kochi.

If Kuruvilla steps down, the CPI-M is unlikely to give a ministerial post to the Kerala Congress (Joseph) party again. Joseph’s party has four legislators.

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE