<p>The ruling UDF government in Kerala will not rush to pick a Congress nominee for replacing minister K B Ganesh Kumar, who resigned in the wake of the domestic violence charge slapped on him by his wife, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"We are not going to discuss the matter immediately or rush to a decision on this," he said in reply to reporters' queries during his Cabinet briefing here.<br /><br />Chandy's statement assumes significance as the exit of Kumar, the lone legislator of Kerala Congress (B), has fuelled speculation that a Congress nominee would soon be chosen to fill the berth left vacant by Kumar, who held important portfolios of Forest, Sports and Cinema.<br /><br />The names that figured as possible candidates in this connection included that of K Muraleedharan, former KPCC chief and son of late Congress stalwart K Karunakaran, and a couple of other MLAs, mostly of the Nair community to which Kumar belonged.<br /><br />Local media and political circles have been rife with speculation that Chandy might even go in for a major Cabinet reshuffle, keeping political and community equations in proper balance, setting an eye on the Lok Sabha polls due early next year.<br /><br />Chandy rejected the charge of Opposition LDF that he had sought to shield Kumar by declining to act on his estranged wife Yamini's complaint, saying this was totally untrue.<br />"There is no conspiracy to which I have been part, as being alleged by the opposition," he said, adding that LDF is trying to make political mileage out of the domestic affair of Kumar.<br /><br />"This approach went against moderation and propriety expected of a responsible political formation on matters like this. The Congress and UDF have always adopted a moderate approach whenever the rival side had to face situations like this," he said.<br /><br />Earlier in the day, the Assembly witnessed noisy scenes with LDF disrupting the proceedings, demanding the resignation of Chandy over the Kumar issue.</p>
<p>The ruling UDF government in Kerala will not rush to pick a Congress nominee for replacing minister K B Ganesh Kumar, who resigned in the wake of the domestic violence charge slapped on him by his wife, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"We are not going to discuss the matter immediately or rush to a decision on this," he said in reply to reporters' queries during his Cabinet briefing here.<br /><br />Chandy's statement assumes significance as the exit of Kumar, the lone legislator of Kerala Congress (B), has fuelled speculation that a Congress nominee would soon be chosen to fill the berth left vacant by Kumar, who held important portfolios of Forest, Sports and Cinema.<br /><br />The names that figured as possible candidates in this connection included that of K Muraleedharan, former KPCC chief and son of late Congress stalwart K Karunakaran, and a couple of other MLAs, mostly of the Nair community to which Kumar belonged.<br /><br />Local media and political circles have been rife with speculation that Chandy might even go in for a major Cabinet reshuffle, keeping political and community equations in proper balance, setting an eye on the Lok Sabha polls due early next year.<br /><br />Chandy rejected the charge of Opposition LDF that he had sought to shield Kumar by declining to act on his estranged wife Yamini's complaint, saying this was totally untrue.<br />"There is no conspiracy to which I have been part, as being alleged by the opposition," he said, adding that LDF is trying to make political mileage out of the domestic affair of Kumar.<br /><br />"This approach went against moderation and propriety expected of a responsible political formation on matters like this. The Congress and UDF have always adopted a moderate approach whenever the rival side had to face situations like this," he said.<br /><br />Earlier in the day, the Assembly witnessed noisy scenes with LDF disrupting the proceedings, demanding the resignation of Chandy over the Kumar issue.</p>