Kerala’s P C George,’uncut and uncensored’

“The truth,uncut and uncensored,” is how a fan page on Facebook describes George. At the other extreme,CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran recently described George as “cheap whip,not chief whip”. YouTube has several videos showing George showering abuse on politicians,journalists,government officials and social personalities,apart from making sexist comments against women.

George’s most recent outburst was against T V Thomas,late husband of veteran communist leader K R Gouri. Local newspapers edited out some of his abusive words when they published his comments to the media. This was after his attack on Ganesh but before the minister’s resignation this week.

George,62 and a graduate,is a six-time legislator from Poonjar,a constituency rich in rubber plantations. He was with the Kerala Congress (Joseph) for several years until 2006,when he broke away to form the Kerala Congress (Secular). Then,as an unofficial ally of the Left,George batted for then chief minister V S Achuthanandan. This made him a target of Achuthanandan’s rival within the CPM,state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. In 2009,George merged his party with the Kerala Congress (M),a Congress ally.

George is known to be close to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy too. During the current regime,his bullying brand of politics came on view when he targeted a vigilance court judge in Thiruvananthapuram who had ordered a probe to ascertain if Chandy had a role in the palmolein scandal. George questioned the propriety of the order and alleged that the judge was a CPM man. The judge later sought a transfer to another court.

George and Ganesh Kumar had been on good terms initially. In 2011,at a reception given to Ganesh in Pathanapuram,George showered praise on the forest minster. He also attacked CPM legislator A K Balan for not addressing Ganesh as “Minister” in the assembly. “Idiot,address him as Minister,not as Mr Ganesh,” George said in Pathanapuram.

George and Ganesh fell apart in 2012 when the forest department initiated steps to take over a few Palakkad-based estates whose lease had expired. As a representative of the farming Christian community,George wanted to protect the interests of the estate owners,who hail from his home district of Kottayam. The government,on the other hand,told the court that the estates were reserve forests.

In the fierce battle leading to the resignation,George once openly threatened Kumar in a public meeting,saying he would be pulled down. On another occasion,George said,“A person who cannot adjust with his wife has come to look after forests.”

George once asked Congress legislator T N Prathapan,too,not to meddle in “agriculture” matters.

When P J Joseph,now irrigation minister,had landed in a case in which it was alleged that he had sent lewd SMSes to a woman,former MP Francis George alleged it was P C George who had conspired against Joseph.

George’s courting of controversies has often embarrassed the Congress,with senior party legislators demanding his removal.

Many in politics have observed that between every outburst and the next,George goes into a “cooling-off interval”. After coming under fire for abusing the late CPI leader,George went silent. It was the Lent season prior to Easter,he said,a time for prayer and fasting.

On Wednesday,three days after Ganesh’s resignation,George “requested” the former minister to be silent,or else brace for more disclosures.