Kerala scandal raises Cong temperature

The Kerala sex scandal involving state Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty is proving too hot for the Congress to handle. Eyebrows are bei...

The Kerala sex scandal involving state Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty is proving too hot for the Congress to handle. Eyebrows are being raised now with the Chief Minister announcing in Thiruvananthapurm today that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called off his two-day trip, scheduled for January 1. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi8217;s visit on December 31 is also uncertain.

For the Congress, retaining Kunhalikutty is becoming a matter of liability 8212; all the more because he belongs to ally IUML. All partymen would have been happy with the decision to back him had he been a Congressman. The Left has made an issue of the scandal, although the victim has retracted her accusation more than once.

When contacted, PMO sources said the PM8217;s trip was three weeks away and a final decision on his visit would be taken much later. Chandy did not explain why the PM was putting off his trip. It is but obvious that it would be difficult for him to dodge Left demonstrations on the issue if he visits the state. Unlike the CPIM in West Bengal, the Kerala unit of the Communist Party is not that Congress-friendly.

In fact, on her way to Mauritius recently, Sonia had briefly halted at Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala media had hoped that the UPA chairperson would meet them, as it would be her first media interaction in the state after the Congress was voted to power. Sonia did not oblige and there was widespread speculation that the Kunhalikutty issue stood in the way.

The mediapersons would have definitely tried to embarrass her with questions on her opinion on Chandy persisting with Kunhalikutty in the state Cabinet.

But Sonia8217;s proposed trip is important from the Congress8217; organisational point of view. She was supposed to open a Caritas Cancer Centre in Kottayam, other than visiting Putthupally, the constituency of Oomen Chandy where she was due to inaugurate the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology. And more importantly, she was supposed to open the new premises of the Kerala Pradesh Congress in the state Capital.

Some sections in the Left, who are closely following the situation in the southern state, are of the opinion that Kunhalikutty might be allowed to stay on till December 26, the date of his son8217;s marriage. On the other hand, there are a few who suggest that IUML is extremely unhappy over the way the Kunhalikutty issue has played out in Kerala and, if the Congress exerts further pressure on its minister, it might threaten to withdraw its MoS in the Central Ministerial Council, E.Ahmed.