Tiruvananthapuram: Kerala PCC president
Ramesh Chennithala Thursday said it was for the party high command to take a final decision on whether he should contest in the coming assembly elections in the state.
"I don`t have any election fever. If the party asks me to
contest, I will," he said at a meet-the-press programme here,
reacting to reports that the high command had given him the
nod to contest.
To a question on his future role in the assembly if he
contested and won, Chennithala said, "A member can sit in the
front bench, back bench or side bench."
Asked whether senior leader Oommen Chandy would continue
to be Chief Ministerial candidate of the Congress, he said
Chandy was `in every sense fit for the post.` However, the
Congress has its procedure in choosing CLP leader after the
elections, he said.
Describing as `politically motivated` the ruling LDF`s
move to implicate Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy in the
palmolein case, Chennithala said the people of the state would
ignore the issue, being raked up after 20 years.
On the issue of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan`s
candidature, he said the CPI-M was trying to create a drama
over the issue for political benefits, but the attempt would
prove futile.
Chennithala alleged that Achuthanandan had compromised
with corruption in the last few years, running away from the
issues he raised as Leader of Opposition. The Chief Minister
could not take action against the lottery mafia which looted
the state and kept his eyes closed on all the corruption
issues he raised previously, he said.
The Chief Minister who gave directions to take cases
against Opposition leaders when charges were raised by
certain individuals who lacked credibility, had not taken any
action when Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy gave in writing
the charges against his son V A Arun Kumar, he said.
Chennithala said Kerala had been passing through a phase
of non-governance in the last few years. The administration
was paralysed as CPI-M leaders were more engaged in infighting
on various issues than taking care of the state`s development.
In the coming elections, Congress-led UDF would put forth
a development agenda that would ensure political stability and
corruption-free governance with commitment to people to build
a modernised and model state, he said.
PTI
