A meeting of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) here chose to cast aside a controversial letter from ousted chief whip PC George, making a series of charges against Finance Minister KM Mani.

The letter did not even deserve a discussion, UDF convenor PP Thankachan told newspersons in a severe but expected reprimand to George.

The UDF meeting was held close on the heels of George’s expulsion as government chief whip by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the behest of Mani.

George had made a string of ‘exposes’ on Mani and his son, linking them to the infamous solar scam and alleged illicit relationship with main accused Saritha S Nair.

The UDF meeting also decided to shrug off George’s charges by invoking the contents of the letter purported to have been written by Saritha while she was serving a remand term in jail.

According to Thankachan, she has hoisted herself with her own petard by going to the press whenever it suited her, picking targets at random. Thankachan stoutly defended Mani, saying that nobody has managed to prove conclusively that the Finance Minister is involved in acts of bribery as is being alleged.

He also announced that Thomas Unniyadan has been chosen as the new government chief whip in the place of George, in what has been a smooth and unanimous decision.

Meanwhile, sources said coalition leaders took exception to the present state of political affairs. By-polls to local bodies in the State had returned a result on Thursday which was hardly reassuring to the UDF. It managed to win 12 seats while the Opposition LDF secured 13.

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