Leaders of the Kerala unit of the Congress expressing differences of opinion publicly is not rare.This time it was Member of Parliament K Muraleedharan who told the media that he came to know about the party’s recent decisions through television news. Reacting to the statement, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Mullappally Ramachandran asked members not to engage in fighting by proxy.
Both the leaders spoke to the media separately at the KPCC state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
“I came to know that the UDF has decided to stop protests (against the government) only while watching news on television. I have also not been consulted about the reorganisation (of KPCC). I don’t have any complaints if I’m someone who’s not relevant to discuss these matters with,” Muraleedharan said. The MP, representing the Vadakara constituency in northern Kerala, is also a member of the political affairs committee of the KPCC.
Mullappally, however, reacted that he doesn’t believe that during emergency situations decisions should be taken only after convening a political affairs committee meeting.
He also said that MPs should raise their complaints with the party rather than engaging in shadow fights. Muraleedharan said that he has no complaints, but added, “Don’t try to blame everything on me in the end.”
On Monday, the Congress-led opposition in the state, the United Democratic Front, declared that it would stop protests against the government considering the huge surge in COVID-19 cases. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Health Minister KK Shailaja had blamed the crowded protests carried out without following any COVID-19 protocols for the rampant transmission of the virus.
Both Muraleedharan and Muallappally, however, made it clear they don’t have anything personal against each other.
“I see Muraleedharan not as a former KPCC President but as an alter ego of the late K Karunakaran (a doyen of Congress politics in the state and Muraleedharan’s father),” Mullappally said.
Muraleedharan said he would never forget how Mullappally had strongly advocated his reinstatement into the party as he waited to get the preliminary membership and when his father was going through huge mental pressure.
K Karunakaran had left the Congress and formed his own political outfit in 2005 after Muraleedhran was expelled from the Congress.