THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K Karunakaran was the only politician in Kerala who deserved to be called a true leader, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said. “He was the chief minister of the state four times and was instrumental in the development of the state. Those in the leadership are often called leaders. But Karunakaran was a ‘leader in capital letters’,” Tharoor said. Tharoor was speaking at the K Karunakaran commemoration and seminar organised by the district committee of the Leader K Karunakaran Study Centre here on Tuesday.
Tharoor recalled that Karunakaran was the one who supported and encouraged him when he chose politics as a career. “Karunakaran is my political guru,” he said, adding that the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) be renamed after Karunakaran.
K Muraleedharan, MP, state chairman of the study centre, presided over the function.He said Karunakaran utilised his political connections for the development of the state. He expressed disappointment over not renaming CIAL after Karunakaran.
Muraleedharan flays leadership
Muraleedharan criticised the party’s state leadership over the delay in party reorganisation. He said he was unhappy over the delay. While the CPM and BJP have started house visits ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Congress is still planning reorganisation. Discussion between two persons is not sufficient, he said referring to state Congress president K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan.
The leadership should replace inactive committees at the local level. He said he did not have the opinion that the present leadership should change. In his response, Satheesan said Muraleedharan’s comments were applicable to all Congressmen.