By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Much national news was made in Kerala this week. The case of the diplomatic row over the trial of the two Italian marines accused of shooting dead two fishermen Feb 15, 2012 continues, even as the antics of a loose-tongued chief whip of the Kerala assembly, P.C. George, made headlines.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has been on edge this past year, after the killing of the fishermen off the Kerala coast by the marines.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist in the state lost no opportunity to fish in troubled waters over the Italian marines issue, and went so far as to link Congress president Sonia Gandhi to the case, given her country of origin.
Till the end of last year, Chandy played safe. He won appreciation for the tough stance he took. When the marines were granted permission to return to Italy for Christmas, many felt Chandy had succumbed to pressure from Delhi. There was apprehension that they would not return, but they were back ahead of the deadline that time.
In January, however, the apex court ruled that the marines case would be tried in a special court to be set up in Delhi; the Kerala High Court did not have jurisdiction in the matter. Tongues were set wagging again, and many held that the chief minister’s efforts would come to nought. The fears came true — after the change of government in Italy, the government of that country has now decided not to send the marines back. (The two were allowed to return February to cast their votes and spend time with their families).
“There will be no laxity on our part. We have already told the centre that the marines will have to return to face trial,” Chandy said, as the matter became a hugely contentious and completely unprecedented diplomatic row between the two countries.
The CPI-M has been using this instance to raise emotions.
“Who does not know that all the players in this case are colluding and the fears that we raised soon after the incident took place are now coming true,” said CPI-M politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
As Chandy entered damage-control mode, flying to Delhi and interacting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, fresh trouble was unleashed back home by chief whip of the assembly George, a veteran six-time Kerala legislator, who alleged that Minister of Forests K.B. Ganesh Kumar was beaten up by his lover’s husband.
A Malayalam newspaper had earlier reported the incident, without disclosing the minister’s name.
As the issue hogged headlines in the state, George went a step further and unleashed a diatribe on a TV channel against two top leaders, K.R. Gowri and late T.V. Thomas, married couple that later parted ways over political differences, and both former ministers.
This led to widespread protests from both the ruling and opposition legislators.
Friday morning, this issue flared up in the Kerala assembly. The entire opposition was up in arms, demanding action against George for his frequent lapses into tactlessness. The uproar in the assembly came just as Finance Minister K.M. Mani was about to present the state budget.
George, however, said it was all because of a mischievous TV channel that had aired what was meant to be a private chat. “If anyone feels hurt, I apologise,” he said.
Speaker G. Karthikeyan intervened to assure the house that he would look into the rules and procedures of the house to deal with the issue.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has been a legislator for four decades, and realises that some of the pressures he faces comes from running a coalition government. What compounds the problem is the thinness of the majority — just three legislators separate the rival fronts in the 140 member assembly.
“Those who occupy public positions should be careful when they make statements,” remarked Chandy.
As a new session of the assembly begins Friday and extends till the second week of next month, Chandy braces for more punches from the opposition.
(Sanu George can be contacted at [email protected])