Baby John quits cabinet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan 2: Ailing Kerala Minister Baby John sent in his resignation from the Council of Ministers to Chief Minister E K Naya...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Jan 2: Ailing Kerala Minister Baby John sent in his resignation from the Council of Ministers to Chief Minister E K Nayanar yesterday, within a day of the Revolutionary Socialist Party leadership meeting Nayanar and seeking his replacement. According to sources, the decision to resign, rather than be dropped from the Cabinet, was taken by Baby John after his wife conveyed to him the party State committee decision, seeking his replacement. Baby John, who is convalescing at Devaki Hospital in Chennai, read the two-sentence resignation letter and signed it. The letter was faxed to the Chief Minister’s office in the afternoon.

The letter said that he was resigning on grounds of ill health and expressed gratitude for the sympathy and cooperation shown to him during his tenure as a Minister.

The RSP leadership on Tuesday formally communicated to Nayanar the party’s decision to replace Baby John and induct the new nominee, V P Ramakrishna Pillai, on January 7.

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RSP State secretary K Pankajakshan and Prof T J Chandrachoodan said in the letter to Nayanar that Baby John had been laid up for the past four months, that he was not able to discharge his duties as a Minister and that it was the party’s decision to replace him.

The RSP State committee met on Wednesday and took the decision through a secret ballot. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Vayalar Ravi has termed the decision to remove RSP supremo Baby John from the post of minister a political cruelty.Ravi said that the move to remove Baby John without his knowledge amounted to cheating. He said the decision also pointed to the master attitude of CPM which insisted that a new minister from RSP would be allowed to swear in only if Baby John was removed even from the status of a minister without any portfolio.

The theft prompted an immediate shutdown of the Louvre museum in Paris. (Pixabay)

Louvre Museum in Paris shut after thieves armed with chainsaws loot Napoleon-era jewels

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Thieves armed with chainsaws stole nine pieces of jewelry, including items belonging to Napoleon and Empress Joséphine, from the Louvre Museum. The museum was immediately shut down and a police investigation is underway. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed the incident and the Louvre remains closed. The robbers used a freight elevator and broke through glass displays.

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