Tweet
Thiruvananthapuram: In a tactical move, the Congress which heads the ruling UDF in Kerala tonight decided to propose its nominee to the Deputy Speaker''s post and deferred a decision on the ally IUML''s claim for a fifth ministerial berth in the cabinet.Congress held the view that increasing strength of the ministry required party high command''s nod.The post of government Chief Whip, initially offered to IUML, would go to Kerala Congress (M), which was expecting to get the post of the Deputy Speaker''s post.
An agreement in this regard was arrived at after parleys held by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy with the partners after the meeting of the UDF high power committee here this evening.
Chandy told reporters that a Congress nominee would become the Deputy Speaker and Kerala Congress (M) nominee the Government Chief Whip. The IUML was not interested in taking both these posts, he said.
The issue of enhancing strength of the cabinet to 21, as demanded by IUML, would be referred to Congress high command for a final decision, Chandy said.
The UDF meet had earlier entrusted Chandy to hold talks with IUML and KC (M) leaders to arrive at an amicable solution to the ally''s demand for a fifth cabinet berth in the one-month-old minstry.
IUML, the second largest partner of the UDF, had already given four ministerial berths in the 20-member cabinet, had claimed one more berth as Parliamentary Affairs minister.
The issue has been remaining an irritant in the UDF for nearly a month as most front partners including the Congress have reservations over accommodating one more IUML nominee in the ministry as it might upset community balancing.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials
An agreement in this regard was arrived at after parleys held by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy with the partners after the meeting of the UDF high power committee here this evening.
Chandy told reporters that a Congress nominee would become the Deputy Speaker and Kerala Congress (M) nominee the Government Chief Whip. The IUML was not interested in taking both these posts, he said.
The issue of enhancing strength of the cabinet to 21, as demanded by IUML, would be referred to Congress high command for a final decision, Chandy said.
The UDF meet had earlier entrusted Chandy to hold talks with IUML and KC (M) leaders to arrive at an amicable solution to the ally''s demand for a fifth cabinet berth in the one-month-old minstry.
IUML, the second largest partner of the UDF, had already given four ministerial berths in the 20-member cabinet, had claimed one more berth as Parliamentary Affairs minister.
The issue has been remaining an irritant in the UDF for nearly a month as most front partners including the Congress have reservations over accommodating one more IUML nominee in the ministry as it might upset community balancing.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials