Phone call controversy; DCC President Palode Ravi resigns; block General Secretary Jaleel expelled

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: DCC President Palode Ravi has resigned. The resignation comes after a controversial phone conversation. KPCC President Sunny Joseph had earlier sought an explanation from Palode Ravi regarding the incident. Sunny Joseph announced that Palode Ravi's resignation has been accepted. Sunny Joseph also announced that Vamanapuram Block General Secretary A Jaleel has been expelled from the primary membership of the Congress party for engaging in anti-organizational activities.

A phone conversation between Palode Ravi and a local Congress leader had emerged. 'The Congress will come in third place in the Panchayat elections. The Congress will disappear with the local elections. The Muslim faction will go to other parties and the CPM. The Congress will become an unsalable good,' Palode Ravi said in a phone conversation. Palode Ravi had given an explanation about this phone call. His explanation was that he was giving the message to proceed together in the upcoming local elections and told the worker to be careful in the constituencies.

'Workers will call me because I am the DCC president. When they called from one place, they complained about each other. I told them that we have to win the panchayat elections. Only then can we win the assembly. If we want to win the panchayat elections, we have to stand united. We have to resolve all the differences there. If you all stand together, that is the face of the party. This is the message that is being given from this district to the bottom for the last three years. So if there is division, we will not be able to win the panchayat. This was the message that was given to the bottom,' Palode Ravi had said earlier.