Published Aug 07, 2022 | 6:33 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 07, 2022 | 8:56 PM
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty with students of Government Girls High School, Cotton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram. (VSivankuttyCPIM/Twitter)
Murmurs are rife in Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram over a possible reshuffle of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s cabinet in the coming days, with a court summoning General Education Minister V Sivankutty to personally appear before it on 15 September.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court summoned Sivankutty to be present for the framing of the charge sheet against him in the case of vandalising the state Assembly in 2015, when he was an Opposition MLA.
Sivankutty was among the half a dozen MLAs who damaged the Assembly Speaker’s chair, computer, mike, and the emergency lamp on the table in an effort to prevent then finance minister KM Mani from presenting the annual budget of the state.
Mani, who was facing allegations of corruption in a multi-crore bar bribery case, managed to present his budget in a huff by reading a few sentences from it despite the vandalism.
The court believes that the six MLAs, including Sivankutty, caused a monetary loss of ₹2.20 lakh to the state exchequer by engaging in the mayhem.
Besides Sivankutty, former minister KT Jaleel; Left Democratic Front convenor EP Jayarajan, and former MLAs K Ajith, K Kunjahamad, and CK Sadasivan are the other accused in the case.
Going by the current calculations of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), Sivankutty will have to step down on 15 September as it would be difficult for a charge-sheeted minister to continue in office.
The front also expects scathing remarks on the minister in the charge sheet.
Then Opposition MLA V Sivankutty disrupts the budget speech by KM Mani in the Kerala Assembly. (Supplied)
In the meantime, LDF sources contacted by South First neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of the chief minister facilitating an honourable exit for Sivankutty without waiting for the charge sheet to be framed.
As per local murmurs, Sivankutty would be permitted to leave the Cabinet next week and adopt the organisational position of Thiruvananthapuram district committee secretary of the CPI(M).
The post remains vacant because the then secretary Anavoor Nagappan got elevated to the party state secretariat in April this year.
If Sivankutty steps down, V Joy from Varkala would be elevated to his place, with district-level leaders from the party in Thiruvananthapuram saying he has the best chances.
Now, it has been almost a month since Fisheries, Cultural Affairs, and Youth Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan resigned from the Cabinet after his controversial statements on the Indian Constitution.
Nobody was inducted in Cheriyan’s place, and his portfolios were divided among ministers VN Vasavan, PA Mohamed Riyas and V Abdurahman as a temporary arrangement.
A full-time minister is required for a crucial portfolio like fisheries, feel CPI(M) insiders. Cultural Affairs is an area in which both the CPI(M) and the CPI have high stakes, and the major constituent parties of the LDF prefer a full-time minister with that portfolio. PP Chitharanjan from Alappuzha is all likely to replace Cheriyan.
Though the Kerala High Court last week stayed for one month the proceedings in the sensational evidence-tapering case in which Transport Minister Antony Raju faced an allegation of altering the underwear that was material evidence in a drug-peddling case, the LDF feels the relief would be temporary.
The minister will feel the heat of the sensational case at any moment after the prescribed one-month period.
As transport minister, Raju is already drawing flak — even from trade unions affiliated with the CPI(M) and the CPI — for the poor state of affairs in the state road transport corporation.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) wants to take the Department of Power back from Janata Dal (Secular) nominee K Krishnankutty, who incurred the wrath of party-affiliated trade unions in the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) by initiating strict disciplinary action against erring officers and workers.
The LDF is also unhappy with the national leadership of Janata Dal (Secular), including its chief HD Devegowda, for a pro-BJP approach and supporting Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election.
If a cabinet reshuffle happens, Krishnankutty may be shifted to a minor department.
The not-so-bright performance of Health Minister Veena George, who replaced KK Shailaja, who won international accolades in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in the initial days, is also a matter of concern for the CPI(M).
Excellent parliamentarians in their earlier stints, Finance Minister KN Balagopal and Industry Minister P Rajeev are facing criticism within the party for not performing on a par with its benchmark.
Higher Education Minister R Bindu also faces performance-related charges.
There is displeasure within the CPI(M) about senior leader and the party’s Dalit face K Radhakrishnan holding minor portfolios of Devaswom and SC/ST Development.
Among the four ministers of the CPI, who hold essential portfolios like revenue, agriculture, civil supplies, and animal husbandry, no one has earned appreciation from their party leadership so far for effective administration.
However, there are very few chances of the CPI permitting a reshuffle in the case of its ministers and their assigned portfolios.
Then again, there are attempts within the NCP state committee to replace forest minister AK Saseendran with Thomas K Thomas, the other party MLA, who represents the Kuttanad constituency.
However, the critical question is whether the chief minister will forgo his position as home minister in the wake of a Cabinet reshuffle.
The home department’s inherent inabilities have created an impression that it needs an independent minister.
When Sivankutty became general education minister, many wondered how the muscleman of the party would handle the portfolio. He ended up managing it effectively.
However, the refusal of the court to allow his request seeking more time to appear in the Assembly vandalism case is now sealing his fate.
The chief judicial magistrate said the case could not be prolonged indefinitely.
