MALAPPURAM: Muslim League state president Panakkad Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal has warned party state secretary K M Shaji for making statements that exposed the internal conflicts in the party in the public domain. Shaji was cautioned when he met Thangal at Panakkad on Monday. Shaji was asked to meet the party chief following his statements made at recent public functions sparked a controversy. Through his statements, Shaji criticised a section in the party led by IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty for allegedly making a secret bond with the CPM. At a recent function, he asked the group why they were afraid of criticising the CPM’s policies.
During the meeting at Panakkad, the party chief asked Shaji not to make statements in public that put the party and its unity at stake. It is learnt that Thangal told Shaji that the party would not tolerate the breach of discipline. League state general secretary P M A Salam and secretary Abid Hussain Thangal were also present. “The party wanted to hear from Shaji in the context of recent controversies related to his statements. Any opinions can be voiced in the party forums.
But when we speak in the public domain, we should be careful of the words coming out of our mouths. I told Shaji that and the same applies to all leaders of the party,” Sadik Ali Thangal told the media during the media briefing after meeting Shaji. It is learnt that Shaji also promised that he would be a disciplined worker. Thangal did not take any disciplinary action against Shaji as expected by the section that opposes the latter. Muslim Youth League state general secretary P K Firoz recently hit out at Shaji for unnecessarily criticising Kunhalikutty.
However, IUML state secretary M K Muneer and some other leaders backed Shaji. After Shaji, leaders Muneer and party high power committee member K P A Majeed also called on Thangal at Panakkad. The intervention of Thangal is said to have temporarily ended the fight between the two groups in the party. Meanwhile, Kunhal ikut ty welcomed Thangal’s move but did not comment further on the development.