THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At the two-day state central executive meet of the Youth Congress, new president Rahul Mamkoottathil and his predecessor Shafi Parambil, MLA, came under flak from the Congress national leadership. Krishna Allavaru – the AICC secretary in-charge of Youth Congress – is learnt to have termed Shafi’s tenure as the worst-ever youth leadership, which exposed his “criminal and shameful act”, at the closed-door meeting at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies in Neyyar.
What irked the central leader was that the All-India Youth Congress Committee had to pay an interest of Rs 3 crore as Shafi had allegedly failed to complete the paperwork in connection with the land deed pledged before a private bank to build the organisation headquarters at Nanthancode in Thiruvananthapuram. The otherwise soft-spoken Allavaru did not spare Mamkoottathil either for having tainted the YC organisational election – a dream project of Rahul Gandhi’s.
During 2017, the YC state committee under Dean Kuriakose had collected Rs 75 to Rs 80 lakh following a statewide yatra. Dean, now the Idukki MP, had aimed to construct a three-storeyed 2,000-3,000 sq ft building on 4.5 cents at Nanthancode. But the project did not materialise. After the intervention of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the land was purchased and the land deed was pledged with a private bank to secure a loan. The AIYC had repeatedly maintained that they would buy the land and complete the formalities. But Shafi wanted to get land elsewhere for the purpose and the loan interest soared, much to the national committee’s displeasure.
A YC leader who attended the leadership meet told TNIE that Allavaru did not hide his disappointment while ranting against Shafi who had left the venue early. In his aggressive speech against the new YC leadership, Allavaru is learnt to have said, “Some YC leaders have cheated us. That’s why there has been a lack of transparency in the recent organisational election. If you (YC leaders) all have evidence to prove discrepancies in the election, submit it before the AIYC. We will take action against those responsible.”
However, Mamkoottathil said Shafi’s committee never had any role in the loan issue.“Krishna Allavaru did not blame anyone. He asked us to expedite the construction of the YC headquarters, and we have decided to start the work within the next few months. It was the previous YC committee which had collected the funds,” he said.