Pillai looms as a problem for Antony

As if the Adivasi issue in Wayanad's Muthanga incident is not tormenting enough for Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony, another bitter pill is looming large for him in the form of the likely inclusion of his openly vocal opponent and in the state cabinet.

The decks are clear for Kerala Congress-B leader K. Balakrishna Pillai's entry into the cabinet, following his acquittal by the Supreme Court in the case pertaining to the allegedly clandestine sale of power to Bangalore-based Graphite India (P) Ltd, and the subsequent decision of his son and Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar to resign from the cabinet to make way for his father.

The timing of Pillai seeking a claim for a cabinet berth could not have been more inopportune for Chief Minister A.K. Antony who is already facing criticism from writer Arundhati Roy to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the police firing in the Muthanga forest that killed an Adivasi.

Pillai has heaped criticism on Antony and on some occasions went so far that even the United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders thought he should be pulled up.

Pillai's ire was rooted in Antony's decision to ignore him during the cabinet formation on the ground that Pillai was a tainted person on account of the case against him. Now that Pillai has been acquitted by the Supreme Court, Antony is facing the prospect of having to accommodate his sworn critic in his cabinet.

Following the court verdict, Pillai has been holding his cards close to his chest, regarding his next move.

"I don't have any desire to become a minister. Let me savour the tension-free days," he said when contacted after the news of his acquittal.

Instead, Pillai picked on E.K. Nayanar to vent his ire, stating that the former chief minister had been hunting him down for 16 years.

The final word on Pillai's possible entry into the cabinet will be out on March 6 when the state committee of the Kerala Congress-B meets to decide on Ganesh Kumar's resignation.

While that decision is kept on the boil, the Adivasi issue has continued to simmer in the state, with most of the criticism targetted at the chief minister and the police force. Ninety-seven Adivasi women and 36 children who were released by the police said yesterday that they had been severely beaten by the police.

Adivasi leader C.K. Janu and her chief aide M. Geethanandan are currently under medical treatment for the alleged torture they suffered at the hands of the police.

Reports say that K.K. Surendran, a teacher who was picked up by the police prior to the arrest of Janu and Geethanandan, had also been beaten up by the police and injured the left ear drum.

The fast by the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) demanding a judicial inquiry into the Muthanga firing continued in the state assembly with Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) MLA Thomas Isaac taking up the fast in place of CPM MLA and former minister K. Radhakrishnan who was removed to hospital after three days of fast.