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Chandy's bid to placate Gouri

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DEC. 5. The United Democratic Front convener, Oommen Chandy, today met the Agriculture Minister, K.R. Gouri, in an apparent bid to assuage her ruffled feelings over external interference in her department's functioning and the failure of the UDF leadership to accommodate some of her interests in the rehabilitation of former arrack workers.

Mr. Chandy told The Hindu that he had met Mrs. Gouri and cleared all misunderstandings and that she had assured her of full cooperation for the UDF. He said the UDF looked forward to the JSS leader's continued cooperation.

According to sources, Mrs. Gouri was unhappy at the way the UDF leadership handled the list of arrack workers who were to be rehabilitated according to a Government scheme. Her main grouse reportedly was that the list of names she had given was not considered. Mr. Chandy is understood to have given her the assurance that her proposals would be considered favourably within the existing Government rules framed for accommodating the former arrack workers.

Mrs. Gouri had also taken exception to the interference in the functioning of her department and she had registered her protests at the Cabinet meeting the other day. Her ire was also directed at the Cabinet decision on utilising the 50-acre plot owned by the Farming Corporation for parking facilities at Sabarimala. She has also been opposing the transfer of land belonging to the Kerala Plantation Corporation for the purpose of redistributing it to landless tribals. The raw deal by the local police handed down to the JSS MLAs, who were holding a rally in connection with the party's `Navkerala' campaign also complicated matters further.

The veteran Congress leader, K. Karunakaran's criticism at the way a senior UDF leader such as Mrs. Gouri was treated imparted a sense of urgency for Mr. Chandy's trouble-shooting mission.

The mission was mainly intended to keep the JSS leader in good humour and prevent Mr. Karunakaran from gaining an upper hand in rallying discontented leaders for his political moves.

Even though the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, reportedly took a tough stand at the Cabinet meeting, Mrs. Gouri and her party are considered an important ally. In fact, her party was given a larger slice in the seat-sharing exercise during the last Assembly elections in view of her strong position in the caste-ridden politics of southern Kerala.

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