Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government on Wednesday said it had approved leasing land to establish memorial institutes for the late former ministers K M Mani and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The cabinet cleared the lease of 25 cents of land at Kowdiar in Thiruvananthapuram to the K M Mani Foundation for setting up the K M Mani Memorial Institute for Social Transformation. The land will be leased for 30 years, the CMO statement said.

K M Mani, a former finance minister, was the founder of Kerala Congress (M), a key constituent of the ruling LDF.

The decision comes amid media reports that the opposition Congress-led UDF was holding talks with KC(M) ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.

Jose K Mani, current chairman of KC(M) and son of the late leader, rejected such reports, saying the party would continue to remain aligned with the LDF.

The cabinet also approved leasing 1.139 acres of land at Vadikkakathu, Thalassery in Kannur district, for the establishment of the Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Memorial Study and Research Centre.

The land will be leased to the Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Memorial Academy of Social Sciences (KBMASS) for 30 years, the statement added.

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, a former state secretary of the CPI(M), also served as Kerala's Home Minister in the V S Achuthanandan government.