Pinarayi Vijayan and E Chandrasekharan. File photo/ManoramaKottayam/Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala revenue minister E. Chandrasekharan on Saturday said that he was unable to attend the high-level meeting over Munnar encroachment, chaired by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, due to other engagements.
The revenue minister also denied media reports of a rift between the CPM and the CPI, the two principal parties in Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). Chandrasekharan, a CPI leader, was talking to reporters at an event in Kottayam on Saturday.
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also said the revenue minister gave the Munnar meeting a miss as he had other programs to attend.
"The CPM does not know about the meeting. It's a government affair," he said in Thiruvananthapuram.
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Earlier this week, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran had said he was not aware of the meeting called by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"We are not aware of any high-level meeting called by the chief minister. Why should the revenue minister attend a meeting which he is not aware of," he said.
Rough patch
Relations between the two parties hit a rough patch when revenue officials, along with armed policemen, in the wee hours of April 20, removed a 30-foot metal cross belonging to a new-generation Church - Spirit in Jesus - placed on a hilltop near Munnar.
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Following this, the chief minister criticized the manner in which the cross was pulled out. He warned state government officials to behave and expressed deep anguish in the manner in which they acted.
Pinarayi, expressing strong displeasure over the incident, then said the steps taken by the district administration had resulted in 'some misunderstanding.'
The CPI leadership was irked by Pinarayi's action. In April, the CPI had urged the government to consider a law for Kerala, similar to the one in Andhra Pradesh, with proper punishment for land grabbers.
Minister's take
In May, revenue minister E. Chandrasekheran said he was 'helpless' with regard to unraveling the 'conspiracy behind the encroachments.'
Also read: Five collectors turned a blind eye towards land grab at Pappathichola
"I cannot probe the conspiracy with the portfolios I handle. Those who do can freely conduct a probe to find out if there is a conspiracy," Chandrasekheran told the media, referring to the Home portfolio handled by the chief minister.
