Thiruvananthapuram, Thursday, August 12, 2010: The State committee of the ruling LDF, meeting here today, will discuss the stand-off between Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and the Revenue Department over the ordinance to set up a township at Munnar by taking over land currently in the possession of Tata Tea.

The ordinance is all set to lapse with the Chief Minister refusing to endorse the Cabinet decision to refer it to the Governor for re-promulgation since it could not be replaced with a Bill in the just-concluded session of the State Assembly.

The Chief Minister had sought the views of Solicitor-General of India Gopal Subramaniam on the subject and was advised against going ahead with the ordinance which, the Solicitor-General felt, could result in major legal complications for the State government, especially in the context of the legal sensitivities of the larger Munnar encroachment issues.

CPI State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan has said that his party would raise the issue at the LDF panel meeting and that Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran would be asked to attend the meeting.

The CPI leadership is angry about what they term the Chief Minister’s ‘arbitrary’ decision to seek the advice of the Solicitor-General after the Cabinet had approved the ordinance and later decided to re-promulgate it.

The meeting might also discuss the collective stand to be taken on the proposal to postpone the local body elections and the likely implications of PDP chairman Abdul Nazer Maudany in connection with the 2008 Bangalore blasts.