THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State Congress president K Sudhakaran’s decision to appoint a new state chief for All India Professional Congress (AIPC) by removing Dr S S Lal has triggered a row in the party.
AIPC national chairman Shashi Tharoor, who was kept in the dark about the appointment, expressed disappointment and demanded to reinstate Lal.
Sudhakaran issued a statement on Wednesday that Kochi-based lawyer V S Chandrasekharan was appointed as the new AIPC state chief. In June 2020, Dr Lal, a public healthcare expert, had replaced Mathew Kuzhalnadan as the AIPC state president.
It was Tharoor who had announced his appointment back then in his capacity as national chief. On Thursday, Tharoor tweeted that he spoke to Sudhakaran about the confusion caused by a “mistaken notice” from him “appointing” a head of AIPC, Kerala.
“The individual named is not even a member of @ProfCong, & we already have a State president, @drsslal. The error is being rectified,” tweeted Tharoor. Dr Lal, who is away in the US, told TNIE over phone that he was not aware of the development until Tharoor tweeted it.
“Tharoor appointed me as AIPC state chief. I understand there was a communication gap. AIPC comprises professionals who are based in India and abroad. I came to the US about 10 days ago and will be back in Thiruvananthapuram by mid-December. I have been told that the error will be corrected soon,” said Dr Lal.