Thiruvananthapuram: It’s a season of open discontent in the Kerala unit of the Congress party but those in the know say that it is not likely to extend beyond a lot of sound and some fury. Reason: The Congress high command in Delhi wants the old guard sidelined and rampant factionalism neutralised, and to that purpose it will be willing to put up with KPCC president K Sudhakaran’s rather brash and authoritarian style of functioning.
From Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala to V M Sudheeran and Mullapally Ramachandran, a formidable lineup of disgruntled leaders have come out against Sudhakaran and opposition leader V D Satheesan but the high command remains unmoved. This was the reason why even when two senior leaders like Chandy and Chennithala flayed the new leadership openly, the high command asked the state leadership to resolve their issues locally.
To Chandy and Chennithala’s chagrin, no AICC emissary was despatched to patch up differences. The leaders were contacted only by AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar against whom Chandy and Ramesh have raised serious allegations that he is dancing to the tunes of Sudhakaran and Satheesan. “There is no question of change of guard in the party again. Sudhakaran is doing well by leading the party. The issues raised by senior leaders are being considered with due importance,’’ Tariq Anwar reacted to recent developments in the party.
In fact, the disgruntled leaders’ main concern is their access to the high command has been severely restricted. The state leaders are unable to reach out to Rahul Gandhi who, these days, goes with whatever AICC general secretary K C Venugopal advises.
The Congress in Kerala is plagued not just by internal problems. The ‘narcotic jihad’ row (the Pala bishop claiming that Christian youths were getting addicted to drugs as part of a deliberate plan) has put the party in an unenviable situation, since it has to now placate both minority communities — Muslims and Christians who form its major support base — simultaneously. Sudhakaran and Sateeshan sought to turn the bishop’s controversial remarks into an opportunity by trying to bring religious heads and community leaders together to “sort out differences” but the move yielded no dividends as the Syro Malabar church stuck to its stand while Muslim clerics and leaders wanted nothing less than the bishop to retract. When senior leader P Chidambaram waded in by saying in a newspaper article that the bishop was wrong, Sudhakaran openly said, his frustration clearly showing, that pronouncements on matters happening in Kerala should be left to more capable local hands.
In what may be a reflection of changing equations even at the national level, after Sudheeran wrote to the high command listing out the charges against the new state leadership, the high command was uninterested. Sudheeran mentioned his resignation from the PAC and from the AICC in the same letter. Yet only senior leader A K Antony is learnt to have spoken to Sudheeran from the high command to persuade him to reconsider his decision.
The high command is well aware that Sudheeran had raised similar allegations even when Chandy and Ramesh were ruling the roost in the party. The only difference now being taking an extreme step of resignation this time. However, the high command seems to have been taken by surprise that leaders like Sudheeran and Mullappally, who don’t have any group affiliations in the party but have a close rapport with A K Antony, too have come out openly against the state leadership. The high command might be inclined to placate them and there are reports that these two leaders are likely to be given new portfolios at the national level during the AICC reshuffle. But it is not sure whether a leader like Sudheeran will accept this offer.
From Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala to V M Sudheeran and Mullapally Ramachandran, a formidable lineup of disgruntled leaders have come out against Sudhakaran and opposition leader V D Satheesan but the high command remains unmoved. This was the reason why even when two senior leaders like Chandy and Chennithala flayed the new leadership openly, the high command asked the state leadership to resolve their issues locally.
To Chandy and Chennithala’s chagrin, no AICC emissary was despatched to patch up differences. The leaders were contacted only by AICC general secretary Tariq Anwar against whom Chandy and Ramesh have raised serious allegations that he is dancing to the tunes of Sudhakaran and Satheesan. “There is no question of change of guard in the party again. Sudhakaran is doing well by leading the party. The issues raised by senior leaders are being considered with due importance,’’ Tariq Anwar reacted to recent developments in the party.
In fact, the disgruntled leaders’ main concern is their access to the high command has been severely restricted. The state leaders are unable to reach out to Rahul Gandhi who, these days, goes with whatever AICC general secretary K C Venugopal advises.
The Congress in Kerala is plagued not just by internal problems. The ‘narcotic jihad’ row (the Pala bishop claiming that Christian youths were getting addicted to drugs as part of a deliberate plan) has put the party in an unenviable situation, since it has to now placate both minority communities — Muslims and Christians who form its major support base — simultaneously. Sudhakaran and Sateeshan sought to turn the bishop’s controversial remarks into an opportunity by trying to bring religious heads and community leaders together to “sort out differences” but the move yielded no dividends as the Syro Malabar church stuck to its stand while Muslim clerics and leaders wanted nothing less than the bishop to retract. When senior leader P Chidambaram waded in by saying in a newspaper article that the bishop was wrong, Sudhakaran openly said, his frustration clearly showing, that pronouncements on matters happening in Kerala should be left to more capable local hands.
In what may be a reflection of changing equations even at the national level, after Sudheeran wrote to the high command listing out the charges against the new state leadership, the high command was uninterested. Sudheeran mentioned his resignation from the PAC and from the AICC in the same letter. Yet only senior leader A K Antony is learnt to have spoken to Sudheeran from the high command to persuade him to reconsider his decision.
The high command is well aware that Sudheeran had raised similar allegations even when Chandy and Ramesh were ruling the roost in the party. The only difference now being taking an extreme step of resignation this time. However, the high command seems to have been taken by surprise that leaders like Sudheeran and Mullappally, who don’t have any group affiliations in the party but have a close rapport with A K Antony, too have come out openly against the state leadership. The high command might be inclined to placate them and there are reports that these two leaders are likely to be given new portfolios at the national level during the AICC reshuffle. But it is not sure whether a leader like Sudheeran will accept this offer.
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