Kerala Transport Minister Thomas Chandy resigns following allegations of land grabbing
Thiruvanthapuram, Noc 15 (IBNS) : Kerala Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, facing allegations of wetland encroachment, resigned on Wednesday, a day after the Kerala High Court held that he should quit, media reports said.
The Congress-led opposition and BJP have been demanding the resignation of Chandy after the allegation of land grabbing against the minister surfaced three months ago.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed Chandy’s petition against the District Collector’s report in Lake Palace Resort row and said that the Minister should step down before approaching the court.
Commenting on the issue earlier in the day, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “The NCP leaders and the minister have asked for more time to discuss the issue with national leadership. I cannot decline their request. They will inform me the decision after the meeting.”
Vijayan said the issue of Chandy’s resignation did not come up in the Cabinet meeting.
“I was entrusted with the decision on Chandy’s resignation and also there was a case in the court. Now that the court has made its decision yesterday (Tuesday), Chandy and his party leader T.P. Peetambharan met me in the morning. They said they need to discuss the issue with their party national leadership,” Vijayan told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The pressure on the Vijayan Government as well as on Chandy further increased as the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday boycotted the weekly Cabinet meeting to protest the Chief Minister's "non-intervention" in Chandy’s land encroachment case.
Chandy has been alleged to have got a road constructed through government-owned land and levelled water bodies to facilitate easier access to his Lake Palace Resort located near the Punamada Lake in Kerala.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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