KOCHI: With only hours left for Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) to take a final decision on change of guard in Kochi Corporation, Hibi Eden, on Wednesday came out in open against mayor Soumini Jain.
In a Facebook post, the young MP of Ernakulam warned the mayor (without mentioning her name) that Congress party is not a place for fascism.
"This is the Congress party, my sister. Nine years will not be sufficient enough for a former SFI worker of Thevara College to learn the history and culture of Indian National Congress. Fascism will survive only in SFI. This is Congress," read the post.
However, following criticism, Hibi Eden withdrew the Facebook post.
Interestingly, Hibi's remarks came on a day when two councillors threatened the party that they will resign from their posts if Soumini is removed from the mayor's post.
"We have seen the post by the MP. Though he has not mentioned her name, we all knew that he is pointing his finger against Soumini. What has provoked him might be the refusal shown by Soumini to resign from the post of mayor, as part of a consensus that the party leaders of the district have reached upon soon after the local body elections in 2015. As per that deal, Soumini will be replaced by Shiny Mathew as the mayor after two and a half years. Now it is almost four years and she is not ready to step down," according to sources close to the MP.
They also said Soumini was offered the standing committee chairperson post after winning the local body polls for the first time. During her second term, she was offered the mayor's post. "MP may want to remember her that there is no place for "fascism" and "bargaining" in Congress party," they added.
Meanwhile, the major opposition of Kochi Corporation, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is keenly observing the situation. With T J Vinodh resigning from the deputy mayor's post after getting elected as an MLA, the UDF has 37 councillors in the Corporation which has a total strength of 74 divisions. The LDf has 34 councillors while BJP has two. If two of the councillors resign along with Soumini, the UDF will only have 35 councillors in its kitty.
"As far as LDf is concerned, it is the Party which will look into the issue. Yes, the party leadership is keenly observing the developments. As far as the LDF councillors are concerned, we are deeply worried at the administrative standstill because of the fight between the mayor and her party leaders," said Kochi corporation parliamentary party leader of the CPM, V P Chandran.