The Congress-led UDF government in Kerala has snubbed Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson for his stand on the palmolein case and for asserting that the pipeline of Gas Authority of India (GAIL) would be laid at any cost in the state. Thomson, who is one of the accused in the palmolein scam, had told mediapersons that he had registered his dissent over importing palmolein from Malaysia in 1991, but was forced to execute the decision of then Congress cabinet led by late K Karunakaran. Terming the decision to import palmolein without inviting tender as wrong, he had said that though he was against it, he faced conspiracy charge when the issue turned into a corruption case. He also had said that bureaucrats could only point out the lapses in the procedure. [related-post] On the issue of inordinate delay in laying the GAIL pipeline in Kerala, particularly in north Kerala districts of Malappuram and Kozhikode, Thomson had asserted that the pipeline would be laid at any cost and had warned the agitators that they would be arrested if the project work was stalled. The GAIL has not been able to make any progress in laying the pipeline from Kochi to Mangalore and Bangalore due to protests. On Wednesday, Thomson came under fire from the ministers in the cabinet meeting for his controversial remarks. After the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy did not hide his displeasure by saying that Congress leader T H Musthafa has already reacted to it. Musthafa, also an accused in the case, dubbed Thomson as a traitor. “Thomson is the number one thief in Kerala. He is a traitor. The entire palmolein import documents were prepared by him,’’ said Musthafa. On the GAIL pipeline issue, Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty rejected the stand of the chief secretary. In a press release, Kunhalikutty said the government would go ahead with the project only after a consensus is reached with the people. We have asked the chief minister to suspend the survey for the pipeline, said the release. In February, the chief secretary had apologised to the cabinet after he raised concern over the alleged mismanagement in the National Games.
