THRISSUR/KOCHI: The simmering factional differences within the Kerala Congress (Joseph) in Thrissur have now widened into a UDF-level issue, with senior Congress leader K C Joseph cautioning his party colleagues against intervening in the internal affairs of alliance partners.
Joseph’s intervention on Saturday came a day after AICC general secretary T N Prathapan publicly backed Irinjalakuda MLA Thomas Unniyadan’s claim to a ministerial berth and questioned the decision to overlook the senior Kerala Congress leader.
Without naming Prathapan, Joseph made it clear that Congress leaders should respect the autonomy of constituent parties in matters concerning positions allocated to them in the UDF. Decisions on who should occupy such positions, he said, were for the respective parties to take.
The intervention assumes significance as Prathapan’s remarks have touched a sensitive point in the KC (J), where the question of leadership, seniority and representation in the government has already exposed differences between the official leadership and the Unniyadan camp.
At a function in Thrissur on Friday marking Unniyadan’s 25th anniversary as a legislator, Prathapan had openly wondered why Unniyadan had not been made a minister despite his seniority. He also said Unniyadan should have been considered for the government chief whip’s post, indirectly referring to the appointment of Kerala Congress chairman P J Joseph’s son Apu Joseph to the position.
The comments drew a sharp response from the Kerala Congress district leadership, which questioned the propriety of a Congress leader intervening in its organisational affairs.
The district leadership also asked whether the Congress high command had authorised Prathapan to make such interventions.
Joseph’s statement effectively shifts the focus from the Unniyadan-Joseph factional dispute to the larger question of coalition discipline, sources said. His argument is that the Congress, as the UDF’s principal constituent, has a responsibility to hold the alliance together rather than allow individual leaders to take positions that could aggravate differences within partner parties.
The dispute has already moved beyond statements, with supporters of Unniyadan and the official Kerala Congress faction clashing in Irinjalakuda on Friday during a constituency-level leadership meeting. Police intervened after a verbal confrontation turned physical, and cases were registered against workers.
K C Joseph cautions
Senior Congress leader K C Joseph has cautioned party colleagues against intervening in internal affairs of alliance partners
Decisions on who should occupy such (ministerial) positions, he said, were for the respective parties to take