Thiruvananthapuram: Leaders from different political parties in Kerala have demanded ouster of government chief whip P.C. George following a series of controversial statements he made against political leaders.
The Janadhipatya Samrakshana Samithi on Sunday called on the government to remove George from his post. A resolution to this effect came at the party’s state leadership meeting in Alappuzha, in reaction to George’s remark against JSS leader K.R. Gowri, calling her an “old woman”. The JSS leadership decided to send letters to chief minister Oommen Chandy, United Democratic Front convenor P.P. Thankachan and George’s party chairman K.M. Mani, demanding removal of George.
George, however, said there was no such outcry when Gowri made an allegation against him, linking him to a woman. George said Gowri’s allegation was baseless but no one cared about his sentiments on that occasion.
JSS leaders remarked that despite earlier warnings, George was persistent in making acidic comments against its leadership, and that the party would wait for the response to its demand before deciding on further steps.
Adding to the outcry for action against George, deputy leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, has written to the speaker demanding his removal from the post of chief whip.
Earlier, the Communist Party of India leadership also demanded action against George following his statements casting aspersion on the character of the late T.V. Thomas, and Gowri.
In a related development, Congress MLA Joseph Vazhackan complained to the speaker against opposition MLA, V.S. Sunil Kumar who waved slippers at George in the House on budget day last week. Sunil Kumar said George had vilified the political atmosphere in the state, and that he was willing to accept any punishment if the speaker thought his action of waving slippers was punishable.
Before the remark against Gowri, George had triggered another political storm, making statements against forest minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar and his father and Kerala Congress (B) leader R. Balakrishna Pillai.
The complaints against George present fresh trouble for the ruling United Democratic Front, which is already vexed because of infighting within individual constituents, besides the fact that it only has a majority of three MLAs in the House.
