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Kerala minister a ‘wife-beater’; CM dragged into row
Kerala forest minister KB Ganesh Kumar’s wife has charged chief minister (CM) Oommen Chandy with hushing up a domestic violence case against her husband, prompting the opposition to ask for Chandy’s resignation.
Kerala forest minister KB Ganesh Kumar’s wife has charged chief minister (CM) Oommen Chandy with hushing up a domestic violence case against her husband, prompting the opposition to ask for Chandy’s resignation.
Yamini Thankachy, a doctor by profession, said she had approached Chandy last month to complain about the matter.
“I went to the CM with a complaint. But he refused to accept it and promised to settle everything amicably. But now I feel cheated,” she said at a press conference.
She said she would file a fresh complaint against her husband.
“I have been suffering for the past 16 years. But I kept quiet, fearing for my kid’s future.”
But, the minister denied the wife-beating charge, saying she was blackmailing him. He also made it clear he would not resign.
Chandy said he had tried to iron out their differences. “I tried my best to save a family. An agreement was almost reached.”
Earlier in the day, the minister — also a film actor — approached a family court to ask for divorce. In his plea he described the physical and mental torture he allegedly received from his wife.
Kumar’s party, the Kerala Congress (B), has sought his removal from the cabinet in the manner it had done several times because of his feud with his father, former minister R Balakrishna Pillai, the party’s founder.
