By TCN News,
Thiruvananthapuram: The Muslim League today announced the names of four ministers more to join the UDF government led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Thus the party will have five ministers in the government, with general secretary PK Kunjalikkutty having taken oath as minister earlier itself. The other ministers will take oath tomorrow, said party president Panakkad Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal in a press conference held in Thiruvananthapuram.
VK Ibrahim Kunju, Dr MK Muneer, PK Abdurabb and Manjamakuzhi Ali
The four new ministers are Dr MK Muneer (Social Welfare and Panchayat), PK Abdurabb (Education), VK Ibrahim Kunju (Public Works) and Manjalamkuzhi Ali (Parliamentary Affairs). However, since the League has been allotted only four ministries in total, Manjalamkuzhi Ali will not take oath tomorrow. The matter will be discussed with the Congress and Ali will take oath later, PK Kunjalikkutty informed media persons in Thiruvananthapuram.
PK Kunjalikkutty had taken oath on May 18 along with Chief Minister and other ministers who are also heads of the major UDF allies such as KM Mani of the KC (M). He has the charge of industries, IT and minority welfare.
Meanwhile, Dr MK Muneer has resigned his post as chairman of the Indiavision news channel as it was difficult to keep the post and being a minister at the same time, according to reports. Hyderali Thangal also informed that Muneer had left the channel. There have been confusions regarding the ministership of Dr MK Muneer due to his position in the channel which had broadcast the new revelations against PK Kunjalikkutty with regard to the ice-cream parlour sex scandal. The various news items broadcast by the channel have been said to have had a big role in the unexpected decrease in the number of seats of the UDF. Muneer, who is one of the secretaries of the party and senior leader, had to be made a minister, but there were different opinions on the matter within the party and the UDF with regard to his position in the channel. When Muneer was asked by the party leadership to leave the channel during the election campaign, he reportedly informed he was ready to leave the position in the party but not the channel. This had brought much criticism against him. But now, he has got ready to leave the channel, though reportedly due to much pressure from within and outside the party, to become a minister.
The Muslim League has 20 MLAs in the 72-member UDF alliance. It is the second largest party in the alliance after the Congress. The party had demanded five ministries, but the Congress got ready to give only four, citing that the Kerala Congress (M) would demand more if League was given five, according to reports. The League got ready to be content with four as it was reportedly offered a cabinet post in the central government. Congress leaders in the state offered cabinet post for central minister and party national president E Ahmed, but the League has now named five ministers as the matter of cabinet post in central government was not sure, according to reports.
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