Furore on in Congress; Oommen Chandy defends deal, all not happy

K M Mani returned to the UDF fold, but the price the Congress pays, after giving away its Rajya Sabha seat, seems to be heavy, with the move continuing to cause furore in the grand old party.

In this file photo, then former CM Oommen Chandy and ex-KPCC president V M Sudheeran seen engaged in a serious conversation, ahead of the release of the UDF assembly poll manifesto.Kerala Congress leader K M Mani is also seen. | EPS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K M Mani returned to the UDF fold, but the price the Congress pays, after giving away its Rajya Sabha seat, seems to be heavy, with the move continuing to cause furore in the grand old party.

The rumblings continued for the second day, with the effigies of Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala and M M Hassan being burnt by irate party workers across the state.

READ | K M Mani's son Jose to contest Rajya Sabha polls

In Malappuram district, Congress workers poured grease on the hoardings of Chandy, seen by many as the main architect of the deal. KPCC secretary K Jayanth resigned from party posts.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Youth Congress workers took out protest marches to the Cantonment House, the official residence of the leader of Opposition, where the UDF finalised the Mani deal. The police blocked the protesters on the main road.

Chandy, however, is of the view that the surprise decision would prove highly beneficial in the long run.

A confident Chandy also refuted the charges raised by P J Kurien against him.

Senior leaders did not appear to be convinced though as V M Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan and Rajmohan Unnithan fired several salvos against the party leadership.

Sudheeran said gifting the Rajya Sabha seat to the Kerala Congress (M) is the beginning of the total destruction of the party in the state and the decision would eventually strengthen the BJP.

He was speaking to the reporters after staging a walkout from the UDF meeting, which decided to take Mani and his party back into its fold.

“The decision was never discussed in the political affairs committee of the party nor in the KPCC. They have cheated the Congress workers of the state and the end beneficiary of this decision will be the BJP,” said Sudheeran.

"The Congress has sacrificed its seat for Kerala Congress without any consultations and this will leading to total chaos and cause irreparable losses to the Congress,” he said.

“I've no opposition to Mani coming back to the UDF, but the method adopted can't be accepted and the Congress party in Kerala will lose its ground on this. Party workers are totally dejected and such a crisis has never happened in Congress,” said Sudheeran.

Former KPCC president K Muraleedharan MLA sarcastically said: “The Congress should provide a sitting Lok Sabha seat and take back M P Veerendra Kumar who has left the front”.

Senior leader Rajmohan Unnithan also lashed out at the decision and said the Congress activists have lost their self-pride.

In a related development, Indian Lawyers Congress state president M V S Namboodiri

resigned from the post and also from the primary membership of the party and said “The Congress leaders who have given the RS seat to the Kerala Congress on a platter to protect the self-interests of leaders will have to answer to the party workers in the days to come”.