THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Friday was a bad day for V D Satheesan. After the state government ordered a vigilance inquiry against the Leader of Opposition, top leaders of two major factions in the Congress came together to train their guns on him. They decided to approach the party's central leadership against Satheesan’s “autocratic style of functioning’’.
The meeting, held at Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, was attended by Ramesh Chennithala, M M Hassan, K C Joseph, Benny Behanan, M K Raghavan and Joseph Vazhackan. A last-minute attempt at damage control by state president K Sudhakaran failed to arrive at a consensus. The leaders will be heading to Delhi in the coming days.
Though unrest has been brewing within the state Congress for some time over various issues, the latest tussle is over the appointment of block presidents. “It was decided that before announcing the final list, senior leaders including Chennithala, Hassan and K Muraleedharan would be consulted. However, Satheesan insisted that there’s no need for more discussions on the final move,’’ a senior ‘I’ group leader told TNIE. Chennithala is learnt to have told Sudhakaran that there is no going back unless Satheesan mends his “autocratic ways”.
The ‘A’ group leaders, however, insisted that the problem is even more complex. “The issue is not just about groups not getting adequate representation in the appointment of block presidents. No other leader is involved in any decision-making process. We come to know about the decisions mostly through the media these days. It cannot go on like this,’’ a former MLA and a senior ‘A’ group leader said.
According to ‘A’ and ‘I’ group leaders, there is widespread discontent among partymen in Kannur, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. “In many places, parallel block meetings have been convened. If the present discord continues, the leadership fears that it may spread across the state,’’ said a worried Congress leader. Senior leader K Muraleedharan was also invited to the meeting.
Leaders close to Satheesan, however, insisted that he is following the path of his predecessors. “When Chennithala and Oommen Chandy were holding the reins of the party, they used to take decisions unilaterally without consulting anyone. That being the case, why is this demand for wide consultations now from the same people?,’’ asked a young MLA close to Satheesan.
Govt sanction for vigilance probe against Satheesan
The state government has granted sanction to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to conduct a preliminary inquiry against Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on a complaint that the North Paravur MLA committed irregularities while collecting foreign funds for his flood reconstruction programme.
Satheesan had conducted foreign trips after the 2018 flood and solicited donations to bankroll his flood reconstruction programme ‘Punarjani’. Under the project, houses were built and other reconstruction works were carried out for the flood-affected in Paravur.
The vigilance had received a complaint against Satheesan from Thrissur-based Kathikudam Action Council’s president Jaison Panikulangara. The anti-graft agency had conducted verification of the complainant as a first step. Later, it wrote to the government seeking mandatory sanction to conduct a preliminary inquiry against the legislator. The complainant had alleged that Satheesan violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act while accepting donations.
The sanction for preliminary inquiry came at a time when the state government itself is embattling various controversies, including the AI-cam scam.
Meanwhile, vigilance sources said they are yet to verify the veracity of the allegation levelled against Satheesan, and that will be done during the preliminary inquiry.