THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when political opponents have been pointing to how the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has been throwing its weight around in the UDF, a controversy erupted over the Congress leadership allegedly deciding to hand its seat on the prestigious Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) institute body to IUML leader and Lok Sabha MP E T Mohammed Basheer, in place of Shashi Tharoor.
It was only after Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram MP, took the issue up with the Congress high command that the party intervened and reached an agreement with the BJP to get a seat for its CWC member.
Tharoor, who is still a member of the ‘institute body’ of SCTIMST was hoping to continue in the position, as the MP from the region. However, according to sources, the League leadership approached a senior Congress leader from the state and demanded that the seat be allotted to their representative.
In central government-controlled institutions like SCTIMST and AIIMS, representation in governing bodies is shared by main parties, such as the BJP and the Congress, to avoid voting. In SCTIMST’s institute body, the Congress and the BJP each had a representative -- Tharoor and former MP Umesh G Jadhav, respectively. Two Union ministers from the state can also attend the meetings.
“The League told Congress leaders from the state in New Delhi that since many people from the Malabar region seek treatment in SCTIMST, they should have representation instead of the Congress,” sources from both parties told TNIE on condition of anonymity.
“The League proposed Basheer’s name. The Congress decided to give the opportunity to the League considering the latter’s stature in the UDF,” a source added.
Tharoor reportedly told the party leadership that as the local MP he has a responsibility to intervene on issues of the constituency. He conveyed that he had no issue with the inclusion of a League representative, but not at the cost of his position.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal intervened and asked the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kodikunnil Suresh, to ensure inclusion of the two leaders to the body. Kodikunnil held discussions with BJP leaders and it was decided that Congress would hand over its claim in the Gujarat Ayurved University in Jamnagar to the BJP. In return, the saffron party agreed to hand over its claim in SCTIMST.
Meanwhile, Kodikunnil dismissed the row. “There was no issue,” he told TNIE. “Tharoor has not raised any complaint. Since the League wanted a representative, Venugopal asked me to hold talks with the BJP so that both Tharoor and Basheer could be included,” he remarked.