KOZHIKODE/T’PURAM: The Congress party’s brainstorming session in Kerala started on a discordant note on Saturday with two former presidents of the state unit choosing to stay away, exposing the disunity in the organisation. VM Sudheeran and Mullappally Ramachandran, who have been constantly ignored by the current leadership of the party, are learnt to be upset about the manner in which they were invited for the two-day Nava Sankalp Chintan Shivir being held in Kozhikode. Both Sudheeran and Mullappally remained incommunicado.
“They did receive the party circular. But none from the current leadership bothered to call them personally. They are hurt,’’ a source close to one of the leaders told TNIE.According to a senior Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi had earlier spoken to Sudheeran and had promised to address his grievances but nothing was done. “The state Congress leadership has not been taking the senior leaders into confidence. It is unfortunate that their hard work is being ignored,” he said.
Inaugurating the Chintan Shivir, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal sought to draw parallels between the central and Kerala governments. He alleged that the country is witnessing a “frightening situation” under the rule of Narendra Modi, and the situation is the same in Kerala too. “Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is following the dictatorial style of Modi,” he said. “Fascism is everywhere. The democratic values are being scuttled and secularism is under threat. Even the judicial system is being controlled in the country,” he alleged.
KPCC president K Sudhakaran, who presided over the inaugural meet, said the Congress was facing one of its worst political crises ever. The party is weak not only in Kerala, but across the country, he said. Congress cannot survive yet another electoral defeat, he said. “Congress will definitely comeback in the next assembly polls in Kerala. The Chintan Shivir is a crucial step towards that,” he said. Around 200 delegates, including national and state leaders, are participating in the event. Draft presentations and discussions on five segments — organisation, election, politics, fund mobilisation, and outreach programmes — are being held at the event, which will end on Sunday.