KANNUR: Congress state president K Sudhakaran has warned senior leader and MP Shashi Tharoor of action if he does not go with the party’s stand on the K-Rail (SilverLine) issue. Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Sudhakaran said if Tharoor could not accept the party’s stand on this issue, he could not remain in Congress.
“The Congress state unit had asked Tharoor to clarify his stand on the issue. If the party takes a stand on an issue, all MPs and leaders must accept that. We can’t allow Tharoor to take a different position. At the same time, I don’t think that Tharoor has any other interests or agenda on the issue. What he said was that he had to study the project details. We hope he toes the party line soon,” Sudhakaran.
Last week, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan too also said in Kannur that leaders may have personal opinions on various issues, but once the party takes a decision, they have to follow it.
‘Congress never ignored PT’
With two top leaders of the state unit expressing their strong displeasure at Tharoor’s stand, all eyes are now on the Thiruvananthapuram MP’s position on the project in the coming days. On Sunday, Sudhakaran said P T Thomas, who passed away last week, had never been ignored in the party.
He was denied the Idukki parliament seat as he didn’t have a winning chance during that election due to the changed social atmosphere prevailing there. It’s an accepted fact that no party could move forward without considering the opinions of religious and community organisations.
“Now, Congress feels that the party’s stand taken then on the Madhav Gadgil committee report on the Western Ghats was wrong,” said Sudhakaran. “The situation in our country demands a relook into the Gadgil committee report and other environmental issues.”