Kannur(Keralam), Oct 19 With differences of opinion among Congress leaders on various issues related to the functioning of the UDF government being aired publicly, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph on Monday warned party leaders to avoid making contentious statements in public, as it will neither benefit them nor the organisation.
His warning comes amidst criticism from certain quarters in the party over the alleged delay in lodging an FIR against CPI(M) veteran Pinarayi Vijayan in the alleged CMRL bribery case and the UDF convener Adoor Prakash’s criticism of Chief Minister V D Satheesan.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, at a press conference here, said, “I strictly reminded everyone in the party to avoid making controversial remarks in public. Everyone is obligated to follow party discipline. I request the cooperation of all Congress leaders in the matter.”
At the same time, he also said that he will not respond publicly to any such controversial remarks.
Prakash, who had earlier created controversy by publicly accusing Satheesan of unilaterally making major administrative and policy decisions without consulting him or alliance partners, reiterated the allegations recently.
He repeated the allegations after having escalated the matter by filing a formal written complaint with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and meeting AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunsi and Rahul Gandhi to demand central intervention.
His latest allegations prompted his party colleague and Health and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan to remark, earlier in the day, that when a person was repeatedly making allegations against the CM, then “someone was behind the curtain”.
Later in the day, Joseph, also the Electricity Minister, said that differences of opinion among party leaders can and should be discussed.
He said that a Congress Political Affairs Committee meeting was held recently and, besides that, meetings of the KPCC and the District Congress Committees were also convened where all matters were discussed.
“After that, it is not correct for anyone to air their individual views in public. That is what I am saying. Such statements are not beneficial for the party,” he said.
He said that the party will decide what has to be done if controversial statements continue to be made in public, as such remarks would cause discomfort among party workers and its supporters.
Joseph said he will speak directly to the party leaders who made the public statements. At the same time, he also said that he will not respond publicly to any such controversial remarks.
The KPCC chief also defended the steps taken by the government with regard to registering an FIR against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas in the alleged CMRL bribery case.
He said that the government did not act in haste based on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) letter to lodge an FIR against Vijayan and his family members and instead took legal advice on the issue.
But when the Kerala High Court directed lodging of an FIR, the government complied with the direction, he said. Joseph said that the government had acted in accordance with the law.
His justification of the government’s stand comes in the wake of several Congress leaders, including Muvattupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, openly expressing concern over the decision to order a preliminary enquiry before lodging of the FIR.
Kuzhalnadan’s stand was supported by Kannur MP K Sudhakaran and other party leaders, including Jinto John.
(PTI News)
