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Kerala Cong chief warns against factionalism

V M Sudheeran warns party leaders against questioning party president Sonia Gandhi’s directions.

Rejecting senior leader K Sudhakaran’s stand on groupism, newly appointed Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief V M Sudheeran has warned party leaders against questioning party president Sonia Gandhi’s directions.

Sudhakaran, a Member of Parliament from Kannur, had questioned the call Gandhi made to the party men during her visit to the state on Saturday to shun groupism, saying that factionalism was good for the party.

Talking to reporters after a meeting of the party-government coordination committee at Quilon on Monday, Sudheeran termed Sudhakaran’s statement highly unfortunate. Sudheeran, who is not aligned to any group in the party, said Sudhakaran should have avoided the statement.

The new KPCC president pointed out that the party’s rank and file had taken the Congress president’s call with much vigour. Sudhakaran’s statement is considered as an indication of the resentment in the ‘I’ group he represents against the elevation of group-less Sudheeran.

Former KPCC president and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala who heads the ‘I’ group and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who heads the rival ‘A’ group wanted Speaker G Karthikeyan to become the KPCC president.

The chief minister had even openly expressed his displeasure by keeping off his installation ceremony and the subsequent reception.

He had also kept off the welcome accorded to Gandhi at the Cochin airport on Friday. In fact Gandhi had given the call against groupism taking into account the resentment in various groups about the elevation of Sudheeran.

Speaking at the special party convention at Cochin she warned that excess groupism would hamper the prospect of the party as the group was for sharing the positions.

However, Sudhakaran justified groupism saying it was part of the politics. He said every leader will have a group of fans behind them and even attributed the success of the party in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to such groups.

Lauding the role played by Sudhakaran in fighting the Communist-led violence in Kannur and other northern districts, the new KPCC president felt that the MP should have avoided the statement. There will be no further discussions in the party over groupism. Gandhi’s statement is the final word in the party.

Sudheeran has also restrained party men from making open statements about the selection of candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. He said that the leaders were free to air their views on candidates at the party forums.

The new KPCC president said the tendency by sitting MPs to declare themselves as candidates was not good. The party will declare the candidates by taking into account all factors needed for the victory.

He said some of the open statements by Congress leaders regarding the seats were hurting the feelings of the party’s partners in the United Democratic Front. He has urged party men to avoid such statements.

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