THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state Congress office-bearers’ meeting held at Indira Bhavan on Tuesday witnessed dramatic scenes with state president K Sudhakaran pleading with his colleagues with folded hands to cooperate in organisational revamping. He pointed out that the CPM and the BJP are much ahead with preparations for the Lok Sabha poll. Meanwhile, two senior MPs — K Muraleedharan and Shashi Tharoor — drew flak for triggering controversies every day. Veteran leader A K Antony, Ramesh Chennithala, as well as national general secretary Tariq Anwar, were conspicuous by their absence.
Sudhakaran was planning to convene an extended executive committee meeting on Tuesday. Though the MPs conveyed their displeasure to Tariq Anwar against holding a crucial meeting when the Parliament session is on, Sudhakaran was in no mood to relent. He said the meeting cannot be postponed as one of the agenda was to finalise preparations for Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Wayanad next Tuesday. Due to Mahaveer Jayanti, the Parliament had a holiday which prompted Sudhakaran to convene the meeting.
Most MPs kept away from the meeting. A section of MPs also maintained that an extended executive committee meeting cannot be called. This eventually saw only office-bearers and district chiefs attending the meeting on Tuesday.
“I have already constituted a seven-member monitoring committee to finalise organisational revamping. But it has not happened. I humbly request all of you to cooperate,” said Sudhakaran.
When the discussions started, veteran leader P J Kurien targeted Tharoor saying the latter has not been working within the party framework. Kurien alleged that Tharoor has been consistently breaking the party’s ‘Lakshmana Rekha’.
Johnson Abraham, former state Congress treasurer, said that while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and national general secretary K C Venugopal are vociferous against BJP’s fascist policies, Tharoor was coming out with weak statements. In a veiled attack on Tharoor, Muraleedharan and Kozhikode MP M K Raghavan, senior Congress MLA Thiruvanchoor claimed that the disciplinary sword cannot be wielded against the trio by using a stick, whip or a cane.