K. B. Ganesh Kumar - Controversies

Controversies

On February 21, 2013 it was reported in a malayalam daily newspaper that a minister in the present legislative cabinet was assaulted by a person whose wife was having an adulterous affair. Although, the newspaper didn't specify the name of the minister, but however, on March 3, 2013 the government whip, Mr P.C. George called a press conference and announced that the minister in question was Mr Ganesh Kumar. Thereafter, Mr P.C. George as well as members from the opposition CPM called for Mr Ganesh to resign from his ministerial position. The chief minister of Kerala, Mr Oommen Chandy also refused to take any action against Mr Ganesh. The extramarital affair surrounding Mr Ganesh Kumar then took a turn for the worse on April 1, 2013 when his estranged spouse Dr Yamini Thankachy called for a press conference and talked in great detail about the facts surrounding the assault incident that was published in the newspaper and the spousal abuse and violence she endured during the 14 years of her married life to Mr Ganesh, particularly with reference to the violent beating she endured just after the allegations of extramarital affair was released to the public. Thereafter Dr Yamini filed a police complaint against Mr Ganesh citing spousal abuse, violence with criminal use of force. The complaint was also handed over to chief minister Oommen Chandy who then assigned the crime branch division of the Kerala police to investigate the matter. Thereafter, on the very same day at close to midnight (April 1, 2013), Mr Ganesh resigned from his position as Minister for Forests & Environment, Sports and Cinema in the Government of Kerala, thus culminating a brief tenure as a minister (1 year, 11 months) who at times showed great promise in modernizing Kerala to international standards particularly in the field of sports and cinema, but was marred by allegations of extramarital affair, adultery, spousal violence and discontent from his own political party.