Kerala Minister's Wife Drops Complaint Against Him After Apology

The wife of Kerala's Transport Minister has dropped her complaint against him after he apologised for his mistakes, but the opposition Congress party is demanding his resignation, creating political turmoil in Kerala.

Kerala Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar's wife on Tuesday said she will not be moving forward with the complaint against her husband as he has admitted his mistake and apologised.

Her decision came as a relief for the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in poll-bound Kerala, with state Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer contending that since the couple was trying to resolve the issue, it was a "closed chapter".

Shamseer said the issue can be left to the people who will decide when they vote in the upcoming assembly polls dates of which will be announced soon.

The Congress, meanwhile, stepped up its demand for the minister's resignation, saying the issue cannot be settled so easily.

The minister, on the other hand, made it clear he was not going to resign.

Speaking to a news channel in the morning, Kumar's wife Bindhu Menon said that as she did not take his calls, the minister called her sister and "spoke emotionally".

"He very emotionally said that a mistake had happened on his part. A lot of mistakes have happened in our years-long marriage, but I never said I am leaving him or will go to the media or that I will take legal steps," she said.

"My intention was not to tarnish the image of the government or my husband. That is what I said yesterday also. He called this morning and apologised and said we can sort out the issue. That is what I was waiting for. Definitely not going forward with the complaint now. We are going to resolve it together," Menon told the channel.

She further said that during her 13-year-long marriage with the minister, there have been a lot of issues, but it is not an incident over which she intends to throw away this relationship.

Menon said that her allegations were made in an "emotional outburst" after the minister denied her claims of infidelity and termed her call to 112 -- Emergency Response Support System -- as "madness".

"We all make mistakes in life, because he was a minister, everyone came to know what he did. But there is no need for the minister to apologise to the public. If I am the one living with him, he only needs to apologise to me.

"I do not intend to move forward by taking revenge, because it is very easy for me to say I don't want anything, and I am going to move forward with a case. I could have done that earlier, but I did not do that as I love him that much," she said.

Menon requested that no one discuss the issue on social media.

Opposition Calls for Resignation

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph said that it was not a simple family matter that could be settled and demanded Kumar's resignation.

"If the minister does not resign, then the chief minister should show the energy to remove him," the KPCC chief said while speaking to reporters in Delhi.

He said that the government, CM and the LDF need to indicate their stand on the issue.

Joseph further said that when similar allegations were made against Kumar when he was in the UDF government, he was forced to resign.

"So, it is not just double standards on the part of the government, it is a betrayal of the people," he contended.

Similar views were expressed by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and K Muraleedharan and party MP Jebi Mather.

Satheesan pointed out that when such allegations were made against Congress leaders, they were sidelined or removed from the party.

He said that in 2013, when Kumar faced similar family issues, the CPI(M) and Pinarayi Vijayan demanded his resignation from the Oommen Chandy cabinet.

Kumar was asked to resign back then, Satheesan added.

"The same people are now saying no action is required because it is a family matter," he said.

"What we say and do is the same. But they (CPIM and LDF) are all talk," he added.

Chennithala and Muraleedharan, in separate responses, said they were waiting to see what action will be taken by the chief minister, who also heads the Home Department.

Mather sought to know why the CM and the women leaders of CPI(M) were silent on the issue.

Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan also demanded Kumar's resignation.

Minister Refuses to Resign

Kumar, while speaking at an event here, said he was not going to resign when there were only a few days left in the current government.

He also termed the news circulating about it as "assumptions of the media".

During the day, protest marches were held in Pathanamthitta by the UDF, KSU, Youth Congress and Mahila Congress against Kumar.

Menon on Monday had levelled allegations of infidelity against him after he denied the rumours circulating on social media regarding the matter.

She had said there had been marital issues with Ganesh Kumar since their marriage in 2014.

The Kerala Congress (B) leader married Menon in 2014 after legally separating from Yamini Thankachy.

Menon said she had been living separately for the past several months because of Kumar's relationship with several women.

Kumar had dismissed the allegations circulating against him as "politically motivated" since the election was nearing.