O.R. Kelu, legislator from Mananthavady in Wayanad district, was sworn in as a Minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government at a function held at Raj Bhavan on Sunday.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Kelu at the function held in the afternoon. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Cabinet colleagues, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader P.K. Kunhalikutty, party leaders and officials were present. Mr. Kelu’s close relatives too were present at the brief swearing-in function.
Mr. Kelu becomes the second Minister in the State from a Scheduled Tribes community after P.K. Jayalakshmi of the Congress, who was part of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government during 2011-16. He has taken over the post left vacant by K. Radhakrishnan, former Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha. In the days leading up to the swearing in, the Opposition UDF and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had slammed the government for reportedly not allocating the Devaswom and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios, also held by Mr. Radhakrishnan, to Mr. Kelu, supposedly to “appease the upper castes.”
Later, speaking to press persons at his office, Mr. Kelu said that his priority would be to effectively implement the welfare projects for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.
Advisory panel meeting
“Along with continuing the ongoing projects in the department, I will also attempt to address the issues in this sector to my utmost capacity. After the current Assembly session concludes, a meeting of the State-level advisory committee of the department will be convened to discuss such issues and fix priorities,” he said.
Mr. Kelu said that as a legislator from Wayanad, he would continue to intervene in issues related to human-animal conflict and take steps to protect the life and property of those residing closer to the forest regions.
His first decision as a Minister was to implement an online system for speedy disbursal of medical assistance to ST communities.
Beginning his stint in grassroots-level politics as a ward member at the Thirunelly grama panchayat in Wayanad, Mr. Kelu later went on to become the president of the panchayat and a member of the Mananthavady block panchayat. Since 2016, he has been representing the Mananthavady Assembly constituency.
Published - June 23, 2024 07:37 pm IST
