Congress high command overlooks ‘A’ & ‘I’, revamp on
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ignoring the concerns raised by the powerful ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups of the Congress state unit, the national leadership has given the go-ahead to continue organisational restructuring.
General secretary Tariq Anwar, who is in charge of Kerala, told reporters here on Thursday that the third leg of the organisational restructuring that includes the appointment of secretaries will be completed soon.
Anwar’s announcement came a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi conveyed her “helplessness” to senior leader Oommen Chandy when he requested her to stall the restructuring in the wake of the announcement of organisational elections.
Anwar, who was in the state capital, gave the state leadership specific instructions from the party high command to take leaders of ‘A’ and ‘I’ group into confidence during the restructuring. Though it has given absolute freedom to the state leadership, the high command does not want to worsen the equations here by agitating Chandy and Chennithala further.
Anwar directed state Congress chief K Sudhakaran to ensure that all important matters are discussed with the two. On Thursday, Anwar patiently listened to the woes of all leaders who visited him at Indira Bhavan. Their main demand was to halt the appointment of the state secretaries. Chandy loyalist M A Latheef, who was suspended from the party for dissident activities, sought leniency.
“The party restructuring will continue. If the situation demands, the leadership can expand the committees further. Sudhakaran will take steps to address the grievances of the leaders,” Anwar said. There have been dissent voices among senior leaders including Chandy on the role of the 21-member political affairs committee (PAC). Anwar maintained that the PAC has more of an advisory role while the state executive is the supreme body.
This is also a setback to the group leaders. With a few slots falling vacant in the PAC soon, the leadership is expecting to fill them soon. The appointment of general secretary in charge of organisational affairs is also pending. Among the 23 general secretaries, P M Niyas is learnt to be the choice of Sudhakaran for the post But the announcement is delayed as Sudhakaran knows that both factions are unlikely to approve his name.