Thiruvananthapuram, November 12 (IANS). The Kerala unit of the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar (NCP-SP) on Tuesday suspended its MLA Thomas K. Thomas was given a clean chit from the charge of cash for defection. He was accused of contacting two MLAs belonging to the Left party to join Ajit Pawar’s NCP in exchange for money.
A four-member group of party leaders investigated and acquitted Thomas of the charge. Also, it remains to be seen whether the much-awaited decision of Thomas replacing his senior party colleague and state Forest Minister AK Saseendran in the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet will become a reality or not.
Thomas’s name was approved for inclusion in the cabinet at a meeting chaired by party president Sharad Pawar in September, which was also attended by Thomas, Saseendran and state party president PC Chacko.
As part of the arrangement, the trio met CM Vijayan and presented Pawar’s letter, giving approval to appoint Thomas in place of Saseendran.
But after this allegation against Thomas came to light, CM Vijayan had barred him from joining the cabinet. Former state transport minister Antony Raju claimed that he and another Left independent MLA Kovur Kunjuman were offered Rs 50 crore each to join Ajit Pawar’s party.
While Kunjuman denied that any such thing had happened, Raju stood firm on his point. Thomas then challenged him to undergo a lie detector test and claimed that Raju’s allegation was part of a larger conspiracy to tarnish his image and reduce his chances of getting the post ahead of the impending cabinet expansion.
Now all eyes are on Vijayan, as Thomas’s party has acquitted him of any wrongdoing. When asked about this latest development, Saseendran avoided a direct answer and said, “The party has to take a decision on this.”
–IANS
FZ/CBT
