In a bid to end speculation over leadership change in Kerala, the Congress made it clear on Wednesday that it was not going to give in to pressure from the Opposition to remove Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
However, the party High Command is looking at various options to change the “image” of the Government, which has been caught in controversies following some arrests in the solar scam case.
Four persons, including an associate of Chandy, are under arrest in the cheating case, where a number of consumers lost money after investing in Team Solar, a fraud company said to be engaged in selling solar panels.
The party said there was no basis in the corruption allegations against Chandy.
Party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary said the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) was conspiring against the Chief Minister.
“He has a spotless image. The investigations are going on. To condemn someone who has a spotless character for so many years, is very demeaning,” Chowdhary told reporters here.
AICC General Secretary Ajay Maken maintained that the party backed the Chief Minister.
“Chandy has a long history of unblemished public life. The Left should wait for the SIT probe to be completed,” Maken added.
In an indication that the Congress High Command was not in favour of any discussions on the leadership change, a group of MLAs from Kerala were denied an appointment with top Congress leaders. The MLAs wanted to “apprise” the leadership that the image of the Government and the party had been hit due to endless controversies.
The ruling coalition, the United Democratic Front, enjoys a majority of just two MLAs in the Assembly.
However, there are indications that the High Command may ask Chandy to reshuffle his Cabinet and appoint comparatively cleaner faces as ministers.
Chandy has absolute control over the legislative party. What is worrying his detractors in the party is that they don’t have a person to challenge Chandy.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony also maintained that change of leadership was not on the agenda.