THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At the meeting with the three chief minister contenders, the Congress high command made it clear that the party will not tolerate any outside interference. Notably, the criticism was primarily against V D Satheesan.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, made it clear that “the Congress party will take its own decisions, and no one else needs to interfere in the matter.”
He is learnt to have described the incidents that unfolded in Kerala as actions that questioned the decision-making authority of the party’s national leadership.
Party sources said both Rahul Gandhi and Kharge expressed strong displeasure over what they termed as unruly acts by Congress workers against the party leadership. Though both leaders criticised the three aspirants for failing to rein in their supporters, the entire thrust of the criticism was apparently directed at Satheesan, albeit without naming him, as the AICC general secretary in charge of the state had submitted a report on the developments.
Expressing deep concern over the incidents, Rahul Gandhi reportedly described the street battles and the vicious social media propaganda as self-centred campaigns.
“The street battles have brought shame to the party and amounted to challenging the mandate of the people who voted for the Congress-led UDF,” Rahul Gandhi and Kharge reportedly said.
Without naming Satheesan, Rahul is learnt to have said that the unwarranted incidents had not only undermined the spirit of the people’s mandate, but had also questioned the decision-making capacity of the Congress high command.
He also warned the rival leaders to immediately halt all such campaigns and asked them to issue public statements disowning the actions of their supporters. Deepa Dasmunsi was reportedly instructed to address the media first, followed by the three leaders.