TRIVANDRUM, 12 February 2004 — K. Muraleedharan, son of veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran, was sworn in yesterday as a Cabinet minister in Kerala, capping what by all accounts was a racy “family drama.”
Governor Sikander Bakht administered the oath of office and secrecy to Muraleedharan, who became a member of the government of Chief Minister A.K. Antony — after demanding for months his removal.
Muraleedharan, who became state Congress president minutes after Antony became the chief minister in May 2001, will have to get elected to theassembly within six months.
He now represents the Kozhikode constituency in the Lok Sabha. He has ceased to be the party president after becoming a minister. A successor to him will be announced in New Delhi.
Yesterday’s development brought to end a drama that began in April last year when Muraleedharan became one of Antony’s most bitter critics.
In September Muraleedharan played truant in the Ernakulam Lok Sabha by-election that saw the Congress party biting the dust.
Muraleedharan, according to his critics, also tried to ensure the defeat of the UDF candidate in the Thiruvalla assembly election in December but failed.
Since then Muraleedharan has been saying that the Congress party would be routed in the coming Lok Sabha elections unless Antony was replaced.
On Jan. 28, however, when Karunakaran announced his decision to float a new party in the name of Indira Gandhi, Muraleedharan suddenly announced that he was a loyal soldier of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
Since then he has been saying that he would go ahead with whatever Gandhi asked him to do, paving the way for him to become a minister.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said: “With my induction all the problems in the party will end and we will be fighting the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections jointly.”
It was not yet clear what portfolio Muraleedharan would hold.
Although reports indicate that he would get the electricity portfolio, Karunakaran is said to be opposed to that because it is held by one of his supporters, Kadavoor Sivadasan.
Meanwhile, Antony yesterday announced his decision to visit the Gulf countries sometime after September, his first foreign trip in many years.
“I have decided to accept the invitation from my friends in the Gulf. The itinerary and other details are yet to be finalized,” Antony told reporters here.
Antony said he did not travel abroad as a federal minister or as a three-time chief minister but pressure from Keralite expatriates in the Gulf was too strong for him to resist.
“I will ask them to invest in Kerala. I’m also keen to get a firsthand knowledge of their problems,” the chief minister said.
Antony, known for his simple lifestyle, visited Russia, France and Japan several years ago as part of Congress party delegations. This is his first visit to the Gulf.
Antony said he was also receiving a number of e-mails from the Gulf, most of them inviting him to visit them and get to know their problems and some containing “constructive criticisms” and suggestions.
“I receive similar messages from many of my compatriots working in Europe, America and Africa. My heart is always with them all,” he said during the Cabinet briefing.
— Additional input from Mohammed Ashraf
