THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A few days after differences of opinion between JD(U) and Congress were settled through bilateral talks, an edit today in Veekshanam, the mouthpiece of the Congress state unit, in which the smaller coalition partner was castigated as deceitful and with doubtful loyalty to the UDF, has opened fresh wounds in the ties of the two partners.
In an apparent provocation over JD(U) chief M P Veerendrakumar’s discussions with CPM leaders amid talk of a political merger with the JD(S) and migration to the LDF, the edit had come down heavily against the party, interspersed with rustic slang and adages in bad taste. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC chief V M Sudheeran immediately disowned it, but the ire of the JD(U) didn’t subside. JD(U) leaders reacted sharply to the edit and went to the extent of making it clear that they don’t need anybody’s permission to leave the UDF. A meeting of JD(U) top leaders was hurriedly convened here in the evening, to register the party’s strong protest.
JD(U) and other smaller UDF coalition partners viewed Congress factionalism behind the edit and pointed the needle of suspicion towards the ‘I’ faction. ‘’We would simply walk away (from the UDF) if we want. There is no need to seek anybody’s permission,’’ JD(U) secretary general Varughese George said. “There is every reason to suspect that someone from the Congress had played a role in the unwanted edit,’’ party state general secretary Sheikh P Harris said.
“The Congress is leading the UDF. As such, the primary responsibility to take everyone together rests with the Congress,’’ Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said. “Congress and the other coalition partners move unitedly. That’s the UDF strength,’’ he said. Chandy also made it clear that a different stand is not billed by the Congress. ‘’There is nothing like a single party domination in the UDF,” he asserted. ‘’While remaining in a coalition, the Congress approach is that partners should not be criticised or opposed,’’ the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister said the Congress is having a cordial relationship with the JD(U). “All misunderstanding was sorted out recently. What was raised by the outfit was out and out political issues,’’ he said.