THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior leader and Congress Working Committee member A K Antony on Wednesday downplayed the tug of war over bars in the state unit of the party as a ‘storm in the teacup’.
Speaking to mediapersons after meeting the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, who called on him at his residence, Antony said there were no big issues as was being made out by the media and whatever remains are being resolved. The Chief Minister’s failure to interact with the waiting posse of journalists after the meeting gave rise to reports that Chandy had used the occasion to pan the action of V M Sudheeran which put the government in a tight spot over the liquor policy issue. The reports were later denied by Chandy, who said that he had not taken any complaint to Antony or expressed displeasure against anyone during the meeting.
Antony too remained silent when asked what transpired in the talks with the Chief Minister. “All issues in the Congress in Kerala are only a storm in the tea cup. There are capable leaders in the state who could solve complex issues,” he said.
Stating that none should expect an explosion in the Congress over the issue, he said that the credit for the new abkari policy would be equally shared by the party, the UDF, Chief Minister and the people of the state.
However, it is reliably learnt that after discussing outstanding issues between the party leadership and the government, which was worrying the CM, Antony advised him not to precipitate matters and work together to ensure victory for the party in the upcoming local bodies’ polls.