KC-B's Balakrishna Pillai and son make peace, Kerala Congress relieved

Thiruvananthapuram: The prolonged friction between Kerala Congress-B leader R Balakrishna Pillai and his son and state Forests Minister K B Ganesh Kumar appears to have blown over with the latter accepting the conditions set by the party for his continuance in office. Kumar, who was under pressure from his party to resign his ministership or heed to party directives, today said he would work for unity in the party headed by his father. His reaction came after Pillai, who had been at loggerheads with his son for long for his ‘one-man show’ defying the party, warned him after a party meeting this morning that he could continue in office only if he went by party directives. [caption id=“attachment_654226” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption]“I will work for unity of all workers in the KC-B. (My father) Pillai is a great leader and asked me to ensure a corruption-free governance in the interests of the party and UDF,” Kumar told reporters at Kollam. “My father and I will work together,” he said, ending a prolonged fight between the two. The turnaround came after Kumar recently got embroiled in a row over an alleged extra-marital relationship, reported by a newspaper without naming him. Government Chief Whip and Kerala Congress-M leader PC George later alleged that Kumar was the person mentioned in the report, kicking up a row. However, while demand for Kumar’s resignation came from various quarters, including Opposition parties, neither KC-B nor Pillai sought his resignation over the issue. The truce in KC-B also comes as a relief to Congress-led UDF, which is in power with a wafer-thin majority. PTI