Thiruvananthapuram, June 7: Having his official residence renamed “Grace” from “Ganga” seems to have caused Kerala’s education minister to fall from grace. At least among some fellow MLAs and Facebook users.
Minister and Muslim League member P.K. Abdu Rabb had followed what appears to be a common practice among ministers: picking a new name for their government bungalow after allotment.
But that was enough for some Sangh parivar groups to kick up a storm over what they saw as a rebuff to Hinduism’s holy river. Then came perhaps the unkindest cut — a Facebook snub from a Net-savvy fellow legislator from coalition partner Congress.
V.T. Balram, one of the few Rahul Gandhi nominees to click in the 2011 Assembly polls, quoted Jawaharlal Nehru: “Ganga is the liquid history of India.”
The MLA from Thrithala in Palakkad added: “There is nothing dis‘grace’ful about the name Ganga.”
The post did not refer to the name change but the dig was loud and clear to the discerning reader, and added fuel to the controversy.
A series of “likes” and “comments” followed but Balram remained unperturbed. “I have not referred to anything. I just said that there is nothing wrong with the name Ganga and I still believe so,” he told The Telegraph.
Rabb blamed the media for the way the issue has been blown up. “The house is managed by the tourism department. When I was allotted the bungalow, I asked the tourism minister if it could be named ‘Grace’, which is also the name of my house in Kozhikode, and he agreed. Where’s (any room for) controversy in it?”
Told about Balram’s post, the minister shot back: “Put the question to Balram himself.”
Tourism minister A.P. Anil Kumar said it was usual for ministers to request a name change for their official residence. “We received a request regarding Abdul Rabb’s residence and allowed it,” he said.
The bungalow is one of four new ones, built recently for ministers on the premises of Cantonment House, the official residence of the state Opposition leader, and named after the country’s rivers. The other three are all named after southern rivers: Nila, Kaveri and Bhavani.
Although construction began under the previous government, the houses got their first occupants only after the new government assumed office.
Nila was allotted to P.K. Jayalakshmi, minister for the Scheduled Tribes, youth affairs, museums and zoos; Bhavani to tourism minister Kumar; and Kaveri to excise and ports minister K. Babu.
The renaming controversy comes close on the heels of heightened tensions between the Congress and the Muslim League over the latter’s demand for a fifth cabinet post. The Congress had no choice but to give in but the matter has strained the ties between the ruling allies.
