The faction-ridden Congress unit in Kerala plunged into a crisis on Sunday after the release of the list of district Congress committee (DCC) presidents. Two senior leaders were suspended from the party for airing their grievances in public, HT has learnt.
Party state president K Sudhakaran MP suspended former MLA K Sivadasan Nair and PCC general secretary K P Anil Kumar for criticising the reshuffle in channel discussion. Both leaders alleged the action was taken against them without a show-cause notice or explanation.
Former CM Oommen and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala also came out against the new list and questioned action against two leaders.
But Sudhakaran and opposition leader VD Satheesan said all leaders were consulted before naming the DCC chiefs and group equations were not applied this time. He said the list was a mix of the youth and the experienced leaders.
“Both Chandy and Chennithala were consulted and some of their recommendations were included. It is not fair for both to criticise the list now. The party is supreme not factions,” said Sudhakaran in Delhi. He even showed a diary in which he noted down names recommended by Chandy to buttress his claim. He said it was sad to hear such a claim from a senior leader like Chandy. “Our only intention is to reinvigorate the party in the state. It is an attempt towards this,” he said.
The simmering dissension in the party with the elevation of the new party president and opposition leader came out in the open with the release of the DCC list.
The party was in the grip of two senior leaders – Chandy and Chennithala – for a long time and they decided everything. The latest move is an attempt to come out of group equations and an opportunity to instil fresh blood but some of the selected, including Wayanad president ND Appachan, are old, critics point out. Struggling with Punjab and Chattisgarh infighting, the party high command has expressed serious concern over the latest revolt in the state unit.
In Pathanamthitta, black flags were hoisted at the DCC office against the elevation of new DCC president Satheesh Kochuparambhil. Strong protests surfaced in Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram also but the KPCC president said the ongoing protest was on small scale and will die down soon. But many political observers said the new list will trigger more fissures in the party. “Though it was stated a generational change, many veterans are back and the new list will create more fissures than solving any,” said political observer A Jayashankar.
