THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The claim of SNDP Yogam general secretary and BDJS founder leader Vellappally Natesan, while distancing from the BJP and venturing for a new political experiment, that he had held secret parleys with both the UDF and LDF to forge alliances in the upcoming Assembly polls, has invited wry remarks from the ruling front.
‘’None from the UDF will approach him’’, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here on Wednesday when persuaded by mediapersons, adding that Vellappally was free to shift is stand to his liking. “We’re not concerned with his stand. I hadn’t commented when Vellappally shifted his stand earlier also,’’ he said.
In the weekly post-Cabinet briefing, Chandy also reacted on the talk of a Congress-CPM alliance in West Bengal. ‘’A decision of the Congress whatsoever in West Bengal will not affect Kerala. At the same time, we are not going to wail in search of an alliance or shake hands with anyone’’, he said.
KPCC president V M Sudheeran termed the claims of Vellappally Natesan a big joke.
‘’Neither the Congress nor anyone from the UDF have held consultations with Vellappally Natesan. There will not be any discussions either’’, he said. ‘
’It’s a ploy of Natesan to make his presence felt, prompted by the realisation that he or his nascent outfit has little relevance’’, Sudheeran commented.
KC(M) Spurns Offer
BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan’s reported invite extended to the Kerala Congress(M) to join hands and tread a new political path, soon after Vellappally Natesan applied brakes on the grand alliance with the Sangh Parivar, and began to turn Left and Right for a breather, also misfired on Wednesday.Expressing gratitude for the affinity shown by the BJP towards it, the Kerala Congress made it crystal clear that the party had neither thought of nor decided upon any such an alliance.
‘’Kerala Congress supremo K M Mani himself had clarified it in unequivocal terms’’, said party spokesperson and ex-MLA Joseph M Puthussery. ‘’The Kerala Congress is an integral part of the UDF. It had never indulged in the thought of striking an alliance with anyone outside the UDF’’, he underscored.