KOCHI: Whenever the sensational ISRO spy case makes headlines, it reopens the plot of the political story that led to the downfall of the late K Karunakaran, the once all-powerful Congress leader. The situation is no different this time too, but it may cause major tremors in the state Congress, which is confident of wresting power when counting of votes in the assembly elections takes place on May 2, say political experts.
If the Congress-led UDF were to come to power, a section in the party may highlight the issue of ‘denial of justice’ to Karunakaran, whose political career almost ended following his resignation, as he never got a chance to stake his claim to the top job again.
Interestingly, the leaders who were behind the alleged political conspiracy to unseat Karunakaran are calling the shots in the state Congress even now.“The Supreme Court directive for a CBI inquiry into the role of police officers in the ISRO spy case will definitely create tremors within the Congress if the UDF were to wrest power in the state. The apex court also appointed Justice D K Jain to examine the alleged conspiracy behind arraigning former scientist Nambi Narayanan and submit a report within three months,” said P Sujathan, political observer.
If the conspiracy angle were to come out, it may take the factional feud to a different level and the infighting within the Congress could spiral out of control, he said. If the UDF were to win the elections, Ramesh Chennithala or Oommen Chandy are the probable candidates for the chief ministerial post. “But, Karunakaran loyalists will definitely use the issue to spoil their chances as both of them were at the forefront of the campaign to unseat Karunakaran during the espionage case,” said Sujathan.
Padmaja Venugopal and K Muraleedharan, daughter and son of the ‘Leader’ respectively, have been on the record stating that their father was the biggest loser in the case. The ‘A’ faction led by A K Antony and Oommen Chandy and the ‘correctionist’ group (Thiruthalvadi) in the Congress used the spy case to steer a concerted move to unseat then chief minister. While former senior leader P C Chacko, who quit Congress recently, demanded that the CBI should interrogate former chief ministers Oommen Chandy and A K Antony to unravel the conspiracy hatched by the ‘A’ group, KPCC working president K V Thomas said Karunakaran had been made a scapegoat in the case.
“The conspiracy behind the case should be brought out. ‘Leader’ once told me that he made a mistake by placing IPS officer Raman Srivastava under suspension. I was an MP at the time and we met at Kerala House in New Delhi. It was, the late T M Jacob, a minister in Karunakaran cabinet, who called me demanding the removal of Srivastava and I conveyed his message. Later, he was suspended by Karunakaran on the basis of the advice from the advocate general,” said Thomas. Karunakaran was sidelined by the party. He later quit the Congress and floated his own outfit in 2005, before returning to the grand old party in 2008.