THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of resigning from KPCC's high power Political Affairs Committee (PAC), senior Congress leader V M Sudheeran on Monday stepped down from the All India Congress Committee too.
If the State Congress leadership tried to dissuade Sudheeran from stepping down from the PAC on Sunday, he has gone one step ahead within 24 hours by deciding to call it quits from the central committee too. Efforts are on by Tariq Anwar, national general secretary in charge of the State to placate Sudheeran.
Anwar is also attempting to pacify former State Congress president, Mullapally Ramachandran.
While Sudheeran had taken up cudgels against Mullapally’s successor K Sudhakaran, his latest move has caught the leadership unawares. The senior Congress leader was unhappy with the way Tariq Anwar had called off his meeting with him on Sunday evening.
Sudheeran is peeved with the central Congress leadership. He has been telling his close confidants about leadership's lapses in addressing the issues in the party. In a letter addressed to the Congress High Command, Sudheeran has raised serious allegations against Sudhakaran citing that he has dug the party's grave.
A leader close to Sudheeran told The New Indian Express that he expressed dissatisfaction over the leadership's handling of organizational matters. The current leadership has been given a free rein by those in the higher ranks. Instead of utilizing the golden opportunity meted out to them, both Sudhakaran and Opposition Leader V D Satheesan have fallen into the hands of the factional leaders, felt Sudheeran.
“Sudheeran’s move to quit from the central committee is a direct display of protest at a time when Tariq Anwar was expected to meet him on Monday. He has been unhappy with the way K S Brigade has been targeting him on social media and also during television channel discussions,” said a Congress leader close to Sudheeran.
With Sudheeran in no mood to relent, ball is in the court of Tariq Anwar. He will have to find out ways to bring him back to both the committees.
Sudheeran is also peeved with national general secretary (organization) K C Venugopal for not taking steps to bring harmony to the party. He feels that instead of doing this, KV Venugopal has formed a new axis comprising the incumbent State leadership and is on a mission to annihilate the group registrations of senior Congress leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala.
Mullapally has also been on a non-cooperation mode with the State leadership after reports of K S Brigade targeting him and his family on social media platforms.