Minister Ganesh Kumar row puts Kerala CM Vijayan in a spot over past 'probity' stand

Thiruvananthapuram, March 10 (IANS) A fresh controversy surrounding Kerala Transport Minister K. B. Ganesh Kumar has snowballed into a major political embarrassment for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reviving old statements by the latter on probity in public life and triggering allegations of double standards from the Opposition.

The latest row erupted after Ganesh Kumar’s present wife allegedly caught the minister "red-handed" in an extra-marital relationship on Saturday.

The incident quickly spiraled into a political issue after she reportedly sought help from the police helpline and later informed Veena Vijayan, daughter of the Chief Minister.

Veena's husband, P. A. Mohammed Riyas, is Tourism and Public Works Minister and a cabinet colleague of the Transport Minister.

What has intensified the controversy is the resurfacing of old video clips of Vijayan from 2013, when he was the state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

In those statements, Vijayan had demanded the immediate resignation of Ganesh Kumar from the Oommen Chandy Cabinet, after the minister's then wife complained about his alleged wayward personal life.

Television channels on Monday repeatedly aired those remarks along with statements made at the time by the late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, then the CPI(M)'s second-in-command.

Both leaders had strongly argued that ministers must uphold the highest standards of personal and public conduct.

Ganesh Kumar eventually resigned from the Chandy ministry in 2013 following the controversy.

The resurfacing of those remarks has now placed the present Left Democratic Front government in an uncomfortable position, with critics pointing to what they call a stark contradiction between past rhetoric and present silence.

Adding to the intrigue is the allegation that despite the minister's wife seeking police assistance during the incident, the police personnel who arrived expressed their inability to intervene.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front has demanded Ganesh Kumar's immediate resignation, accusing the government of shielding the minister.

Opposition leaders said the silence of Vijayan and senior Left leaders is in sharp contrast to their earlier moral posturing on public ethics.

The controversy has also exploded across social media, where users have been circulating the 2013 video clips and posting a wave of biting satire and political memes targeting the government.

With the state cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning, attention is now firmly on Vijayan and Ganesh Kumar.

Whether the Chief Minister maintains silence or acts on the issue could determine whether the row remains a social media storm or escalates into a full-blown political crisis.

--IANS