THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Barely four months into office, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government in Kerala has been committing one political gaffe after another.If it was the EP Jayarajan row, where the senior CPI(M) leader from Kannur was forced to step down over nepotism charges, this time the government is facing another headache as vigilance chief Jacob Thomas has offered to resign. However, the government seems to have wriggled out of the crisis. Days after Thomas put the Left government in a major embarrassment by offering to quit, he’s now all set to revisit the decision.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government faced its major embarrassment, when Jayarajan, second in command in the LDF government, drew flak from both within the party and outside over nepotism charges. The senior leader, part of the powerful Kannur lobby, kicked up a major row after he appointed his nephew P K Sudheer, son of CPI(M) Lok Sabha MP PK Sreemathy, managing director of state-run PSU Kerala State Industrial enterprises.
Soon, reports came out about many such posts where the kith and kin of many senior leaders were holding crucial positions in many state-run PSUs. Meanwhile, the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau initiated a verification against him. With demands for his resignation growing stronger—from within and outside the Left front—Jayarajan stepped down.
The CPI(M) then came out with a statement that with the minister’s resignation the party has sent out a strong message. However, the government faced another embarrassment when Thomas, handpicked by the CM as director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, offered to quit.
The request was sent to the government close on the heels of allegations coming out against him. However, he didn’t mention anything about the allegations as reasons for his decision. Instead, he offered to quit due to personal reasons. “Each day brings with it a new sky and a new earth,” Thomas said a day after he handed over the letter.
However, a determined Vijayan was not ready to accept the decision. The CPI(M) state leadership too came out with a decision that Thomas should. The file is still pending with the CM. Now with pressure mounting on him, Thomas seemed to have decided against quitting. Though, a final call is yet to be taken. He made clear that he has internally informed the government about the issues and now it’s for the government to take a call.
Meanwhile, in a recent development, Thomas alleged that his phone and email are being tapped. He filed a complaint stating the phone tapped began after he send a request to the government expressing his wish to step down.
With another controversy erupting over EP Jayarajan’s request for teak wood from the forest department coming out, it’s testing times for the Left government in Kerala.