THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With MK Raghavan MP's attack on the KPCC leadership as if it were a curry leaf culture in the Congress, the simmering uneasiness in the state Congress for some time came to a public boil. As the party prepares for next year's Lok Sabha elections, the leadership is facing a headache with the fight within the party.
While K Muraleedharan came in support yesterday, stating that Raghavan expressed the general sentiment of the party workers, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal expressed his displeasure at the public responses. He clarified that opinions should be expressed within the party and that public response will not help. Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that Raghavan's issue should be discussed and resolved in the party and the KPCC president should answer.
It is noteworthy that MK Raghavan is one of the foremost leaders of the Shashi Tharoor group in Congress. A disagreement has been simmering between the leaders for some time on various issues like the approach towards Tharoor, party reorganization, the addition of KPCC members, etc. Raghavan's response was it's blasphemy. Raghavan's attack was in the presence of VM Sudhiran, who was already in disagreement with the KPCC leadership.
Although the state leadership's list of sixty new members in the KPCC was submitted to the High Command just before the Raipur plenary, it was not approved. It is suggested that the approval is delayed due to complaints. A dispute arose when the leaders of the A and I groups raised the allegation that they were not consulted. It was also in the news that the state leaders quarreled with each other in the plenary session. Many people are angry that even after the AICC conference, they did not call a party meeting and try to solve the problem. It is also in this context that MK Raghavan's public response is interpreted.
It has been a long time since the Political Affairs Committee met to take a stand on key policy issues. So there is a complaint that there are no serious deliberations. Reorganization up to the DCC level has not gone anywhere. Although many are of the opinion that Shashi Tharoor should be actively utilized in Kerala, some complain that the leadership is not favorable. It is also alleged that Congress, which is leading the opposition front, is not able to use the issue effectively despite having many issues to use against the government such as tax hikes, Life Mission corruption, etc.