Congress members seethe as Mani returns to Kerala UDF
Decision to offer Congress’ Rajya Sabha seat to Kerala Congress sparks anger
The Congress unit in Kerala headed into a raging storm yesterday as the Kerala Congress (M) led by K.M. Mani made a return to the Congress-led United Democratic Front fold, after being offered the bounty of the Rajya Sabha seat held by the Congress that is falling vacant next month.
The decision to give the seat to Kerala Congress came at the end of political moves led by Indian Union Muslim League MP, P.K. Kunhalikutty.
Ever since news broke out on Thursday that the Congress’ Rajya Sabha seat, ■ presently being held by P.J. Kurien, was being offered to the Kerala Congress (M), Congress leaders had been seething in anger at the party’s surrender to its junior partner in the coalition. The Kerala Congress (M) was not even a UDF partner until yesterday morning.
Unprecedented internal protests were witnessed in the Congress state unit yesterday as two former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee presidents openly expressed resentment at the move to bequeath the party’s Rajya Sabha seat to the Kerala Congress (M).
Openly demonstrating his protest over the party’s move to give the seat to Mani, former KPCC president, V.M. Sudheeran yesterday walked out of the room when Mani arrived for the UDF meeting. “The decision to donate the Rajya Sabha seat to the Kerala Congress is an ill-advised one. It will lead to disastrous consequences for Congress”, Sudheeran said.
In the previous UDF government, when Mani was accused of accepting a big bribe from liquor bar owners, Sudheeran had been among those strongly advocating against both liquor bars and corruption.