George resignation move due to fear of disqualification: Mani

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Congress (M) supremo and state Finance Minister K M Mani Thursday said party rebel leader P C George's move to resign as MLA was due to fear of disqualification for "anti-party" activities.

Reacting to the announcement of George that he was planning to resign as MLA, Mani said it showed the former had certain apprehensions about the verdict of the Assembly Speaker on the petition by the party seeking his disqualification.

The Speaker gave enough time to George to explain his position and had acted "impartially", Mani said.

The petition seeking disqualification of George was filed by KC(M) for alleged anti-party activities and was pending before Speaker N Sakthan.

KC(M) is the third largest partner in the ruling Congress-led UDF and it has nine members in the assembly.

George was removed last year from the post of Government Chief Whip after he openly challenged Mani and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.