By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala’s Public Works Minister T.U. Kuruvilla, facing a judicial probe into a controversial land deal in which he is accused of cheating a businessman, said Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan did not listen to him.
“I am sad that Achuthanandan did not lend me his ears when I was facing a problem. I am sad that he did not give me time to hear what I had to say and he was not fair to me. I will never become a minister again,” Kuruvilla told reporters on his last day in office.
Kuruvilla had offered to step down soon after the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) Thursday decided to order a judicial probe into the land deal.
His remarks come after Achuthanandan said Friday that it would be best if Kuruvilla steps down in the wake of the announcement of the judicial probe, which would be set up soon.
Kuruvilla’s party, the Kerala Congress (Joseph), is meeting Sunday to discuss his offer to step down. The meeting called by party chief P.J. Joseph is likely to take further steps. It remains to be seen if Joseph will allow one of the two other legislators from his party to be nominated to the state cabinet.
Last year Joseph had to step down as minister following news reports that he had misbehaved with a woman on board a flight from Chennai to Kochi.
Informed sources here said that Joseph, whose party has four legislators, is not keen to nominate one of the two remaining MLAs for the ministerial post because he is expecting to come clean on the misbehaviour allegation and is waiting to return to the cabinet himself.
However, the sources added that Joseph’s party could head for a split if he imposes his view in Sunday’s meeting.
The Kerala Congress (Joseph) had seen a split after P.C. George was booted out just ahead of the April-May 2006 assembly polls. George turned out to be the nemesis for Joseph and his party as he played a crucial role in bringing to light allegations against both Joseph and Kuruvilla.