Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 6 (IANS): Kerala's former director-general of Police Jacob Thomas on Tuesday gave a clean chit to state BJP president K. Surendran and opined that there was no need for him to be replaced.

Thomas who retired from service last year had joined the BJP and contested the April 6 assembly polls from the Iranjalkuda assembly constituency as a BJP candidate and came third by getting about 22 per cent votes.

Thomas said this while speaking to a TV channel here and said that things are different when one comes inside and views the BJP.

"This is true in all things. When one observes from outside and then comes inside, things will be different and that difference is there in the BJP also," added Thomas.

After the assembly elections and the BJP ending up losing its lone seat in the 140 member Kerala assembly and also its vote share coming down, Thomas was one of the three members who were asked to submit a report by the national leadership.

But when that became a contentious issue, a statement came out that the party had not asked for a report and when asked about it, Thomas said, "I do not wish to make any statement on that," said Thomas.

"There is no need for Surendran to move out. I am sure that in the next three years the Kerala unit of the BJP will see short, medium and long term changes. The youth wing of the BJP (Yuva Morcha) should take a leaf out from the way the youth wing of the CPI-M (DYFI) works as they are more engaged in social activities, while the BJP's unit is more of a protesting unit. All things will change in the coming years," said Thomas.

Incidentally, the statement from Thomas that Surendran need not move, came at a time when the first high level meeting of the Kerala unit of the BJP met at Kasargode on Tuesday to discuss the assembly election results and in it a section opposed to Surendran wanted him to step down in the wake of the poor performance of the BJP here.

Incidentally, Thomas was the blue eyed boy of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and was brought as head of the Vigilance the day Vijayan assumed office for the first time in May 2016, but after an year the two fell out and Thomas was shunted to a perennial loss making State PSU, from where he retired.