KOCHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bickerings and outbursts have surfaced in the Congress party in Kerala a day after the announcement of the new District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents to all the 14 districts in the state.
Senior leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala alleged that no proper discussions were held before finalising the names of the new DCC presidents while KPCC president K Sudhakaran, Opposition leader VD Satheesan, KPCC working president PT Thomas and senior leader and MK Muraleedharan said the new names were selected keeping the Congress party's interest in mind, and not the interest of various groups.
"The list of new DCC presidents was arrived at after lengthy and proper discussions across various layers of the party in the state. Perhaps, never in the Congress party's history in Kerala, such lengthy discussions have been held," Satheesan told reporters in Kochi, adding that when Chandy and Chennithala were at the helm during 18 years, no such discussions were held.
"KPCC president K Sudhakaran and I held two rounds of talks with Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala. We have taken their suggestions and opinions before finalising the list. But, we can't divide the 14 districts by distributing seven DCC presidents each between those two groups. We have promised a new leadership style to revive the Congress in Kerala, and the list, we believe, is for the betterment of the party," said Satheesan.
Earlier, Oommen Chandy told reporters in Kottayam denied reports that he was involved in any discussions over the selection of new DCC presidents. "There were no discussions with me regarding the new DCC presidents. Some reports said my nominee was selected as DCC president of Kottayam and Idukki. It's not correct," Chandy, who leads the 'A' faction of the Congress in Kerala, said.
Chennithala, former KPCC president, who leads the 'I' faction of the Congress, has also come out against the new DCC presidents list. He said more discussions could have been held, before announcing the new DCC presidents' names.
"If we had held more discussions, we could have avoided the intervention of the Congress High Command," Chennithala said, adding that every Congress leader in the state was part of one group or the other. "Tell me who doesn't belong to a group in Kerala? Now, we are seeing a phenomenon where someone says he's not part of a group when he gets a party position," he said.
Addressing a news conference in Thiruvananthapuram, KPCC president Sudhakaran said the restructuring of the DCCs was held after proper discussions among various senior leaders, KPCC office bearers and the Congress High Command.
Echoing Satheesan's comments, Sudhakaran said never in the party's history such lengthy discussions were held before finalising the names of the DCC presidents. "Of course, it's not possible to satisfy everyone," he said.
PT Thomas, KPCC Working President, said that the new DCC presidents' list gave more importance to the Congress party organisation in Kerala, as against the 'groups' interests. "I don't think the DCC list could be prepared without taking the views of senior leaders like Oommen Chandy and Chennithala. The DCC list should have been finalised by August 15, but the list was delayed by about another 15 days as there was a view that more discussions should be held," Thomas, who is also an MLA, said.
K Muraleedharan, a former KPCC president and a sitting MP, has also come to the support of Sudhakaran and Satheesan, saying there were never-before-seen discussions and talks between various segments of the Congress party, before arriving at the final list. "There were wider discussions than any time in the past for preparing this DCC presidents' list," he said.