The United Democratic Front leadership appears to be in two minds about ousting the Kerala Congress(B) and its leader R. Balakrishna Pillai from the ruling coalition.
At the end of multi-layer discussions between the UDF partners on Tuesday, it appears that the acerbic Mr. Pillai will get away with a censure notice and a “warning”, besides getting the “benefit of doubt” as a result of the differences in the coalition and the Congress on the course of action against him.
The UDF high power meeting was convened for Wednesday in the context of Mr. Pillai’s purported phone conversation with bar owner Biju Ramesh regarding certain allegations against Mr. Mani.
Senior leaders individually and severally met during the course of the day trying to work out the path of action against Mr. Pillai.
Congress leaders from Kollam such as Sooranad Rajasekharan were reportedly opposed to taking action against Mr. Pillai. The Congress leadership was also hesitant to push for Mr. Pillai’s ouster mainly because the Indian Union Muslim League and the Kerala Congress (M) were reluctant to officially make such a demand for their own respective reasons.
Senior Congress leaders said the ruling coalition’s action against Mr. Pillai would not be convincing without a similar move against government Chief Whip P.C. George, since the controversial statements of these two leaders caught media headlines and proved to be an embarrassment for the UDF only because they were part of the ruling dispensation.
Since Mr. George was a senior leader of the Kerala Congress (M), the onus was on that party to take action against him. But given Mr. Mani’s soft peddling, it appears that the decision on Mr. George will not be easy to make, sources said.
Wednesday’s UDF meeting will once again throw its weight behind Mr. Mani by proactive statements about his credentials as Finance Minister. The meeting is at 6 pm and still gives sufficient time for bilateral and multi-lateral parleys among UDF leaders, supplemented by attempts to persuade Mr. Pillai to tone down his outpourings.
Pillai may get away with a censure notice, warning
No official demand from partners for action against him
