Dropping enough indications that controversies including the defunct Cabinet reshuffle episode will not deter him beyond a limit, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala struck a pro-active mode in party affairs once again. After a KPCC leaders’ meet on Thursday here, Ramesh announced a series of programmes planned under the aegis of the party for the next three months.
Without dwelling into recent party issues which has generated much heat following the bid to induct Ramesh into the Oommen Chandy led UDF ministry, the leaders’ meet decided to go by the high command diktat.
“The leaders’ meet has come to the conclusion that the topic of entry into the cabinet needn’t be discussed at the state level since it is under the consideration of the Congress high command,’’ said Ramesh, who briefed mediapersons after the meet.
‘’None has sought my removal from the post of KPCC president. So I’m carrying party work forward. What has been chalked out are programmes in the backdrop of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,’’ Ramesh said.
He said that the leaders’ meet has asked the government to examine in detail the proposed project for supplying bottled drinking water to the public for a price, since seven UDF MLAs have also submitted a memorandum raising objections.
“There is nothing wrong in examining anomalies, if any, in a democratic system,’’ Ramesh felt. “I don’t think that the government has any false prestige on the issue,’’ he added.
He added that he was not aware whether the bottled drinking water scheme has ever been discussed in a UDF meet. On allegations against the Chief Minister’s office in connection with the links maintained by Tenny Joppan, the Chief
Minister’s personal staff member, with fraudster Saritha S Nair, who has been arrested by the police on charges of duping many in the name of solar panel and wind power projects, Chennithala evaded a direct reply saying that he did not know anything over and above what the Chief Minister has told so far.
Ramesh said that he did not agree to the assessment that the cabinet reshuffle issue had robbed the Kerala Yatra of its sheen.
“The KPCC leaders’ meet resolved to go ahead with measures to maintain the high enthusiasm of grassroots level party workers which was evident during the Kerala yatra,’’ he said.
He said that as per the plan, all committees below the DCCs will be revamped before July 30. The KPCC state executive will also be restructured before the same period. During June 20 to June 30, DCC meetings will be held. The deadline set for holding mandalam level and panchayat level meets are July 5 and July 15 respectively. During July-August, district level camps for party workers will be organised across the state. KPCC will meet all the expenses for the conduct of such camps.
The meet decided to initiate action against those party committees which have failed to collect the specified fund and hand over the same during the course of Kerala yatra.
“The meet expressed grave concern at the outcome of the BJP conclave in Goa, which has brought out the fascist designs and threats to secularism once again,’’ he said. Chennithala said that he would visit the Attappady area on June 15 for an on-the-spot assessment of the currents ituation after the region witnessed about of starvation deaths.