THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Six months after the Oommen Chandy cabinet came to power in 2011, the government faced a major allegation of corruption in the Titanium case. The opposition raised serious corruption charges against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the Assembly. Under the leadership of opposition leader Achuthanandan, the Left Front was all set to topple the ruling front in the assembly.

After the concerned ministers give an explanation for the adjournment motion notice on the corruption allegations that put the government on the defensive, the motion is usually denied following which the opposition stages a walkout.

That is when Oommen Chandy made a clever move. He agreed that the House would adjourn and discuss the adjournment motion. The move surprised the ruling party as well. The Chief Minister had earlier spoken to Speaker G Karthikeyan regarding this and reached an agreement. Following this, the Speaker allotted one hour for discussion from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm.

The Chief Minister then called Mohan Kumar, Special Private Secretary in the Speaker's office, and asked him, "Shall we allow it to be telecasted live?"

"Sir, this is a corruption charge against you. The opposition will use it to the maximum. Do you want it to be telecasted live?"- Mohan expressed doubt.

However, Oommen Chandy was firm on his decision that the discussion should be telecasted live. The Speaker too supported the CM.

Thus, the entire Kerala watched the adjournment motion debate live on that day. People, including Mohan, think that Oommen Chandy was motivated by his firm conviction that there was no mistake on his part. The Chief Minister, who gave accurate replies to the questions raised by the opposition, easily managed to dismiss the allegations against him.