Thiruvananthapuram: T U Kuruvila, Kerala Public Works Minister resigned on Monday following the accusation that his relatives were involved in a shady land transaction.

Mr. Kuruvilla passed on his resignation letter to Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan at the latter’s home on Monday night.

Kuruvila’s party, Kerala Congress-Joseph, had yesterday accepted his offer to leave after the ruling LDF last week commended a judicial investigation into the land contract.

The accusation against his family embers refers to irregularities in the purchase of about 50 acres of land by his children at Rajakumari village near Munnar in Idukki region.

The purchase of land was supposedly part of an agreement with an NRI businessman who was interested in establishing a resort in the tourism region.

The contract, however, fell through with the businessman coming out with a charge that he was cheated in the deal and the minister was also aware of the matter right from the beginning

Kuruvila had joined the cabinet last year after party chairman P J Joseph was coerced to quit confronting the allegation of having misbehaved with a woman traveler on board a flight.

Kerala Congress-J that has four-members in the assembly would make a decision its successor to Kuruvila at an executive meeting to be held at Kottayam on September 15.