THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid speculation that Kerala Congress (M) may part ways with the LDF, the state government has decided to earmark land to set up a memorial for the late Kerala Congress patriarch KM Mani.
The state cabinet decided to lease out 25 cents of land at Kowdiar in the state capital to the KM Mani Foundation to set up the KM Mani Memorial Institute for Social Transformation.
As per the decision, land will be given on lease for a period of 30 years at Rs 25 per Are.
The crucial move came on the day KC(M) chairman Jose K Mani asserted that the party would remain with the Left Front.
With Jose K Mani absent from the LDF satyagraha on Monday, there were speculations that the party has been seriously considering the possibility of switching sides ahead of the assembly polls.
In his 2020-21 budget, the then finance minister Thomas Isaac had earmarked Rs five crore to the KM Mani foundation to set up a research centre as a monument to the ex-finance minister who set a record with the presentation of 13 budgets.
Terming it as political decency, Isaac had justified the move, saying KM Mani's role in state politics cannot be ignored.
However, even after five years, the proposal remained only on paper. There was strong resentment among party cadres over the government's dilly-dallying with the proposal.
Criticism too rose against Jose K Mani for his failure to persuade the government to set up the monument to his late father.