THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite strong resistance from district Congress committees, the party leadership has decided to scale down the expenditure and limit the number of participants for the programme marking the centenary of the historic meeting between Sree Narayana Guru and Mahatma Gandhi. The programme is scheduled to be inaugurated by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, at the Ashram ground in Kollam on March 6.
The event was originally planned by the Congress high command and state leadership as part of efforts to regain the support of the influential Ezhava community in Southern Kerala ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections.
Following discussions among party leaders, it was decided to organise the programme jointly with the Sivagiri Mutt. Party workers from four districts – Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam – are expected to take part in the programme.
The move was reportedly driven by concerns that a large turnout in Kollam could affect participation of workers in the culmination of Puthuyuga Yatra, which will also be inaugurated by Rahul on the next day, March 7 at Putharikandam ground in Thiruvananthapuram .
According to leadership’s estimates, the Thiruvananthapuram DCC would not be able to arrange a large section of people for the March 7 event. An organising committee member said, “The culmination of Puthuyuga Yatra is a political event and needs big importance due to the assembly election. The other event is non-political,” he said.
The move, however, drew opposition from several district leaders, who argued that scaling down the programme would affect the Congress’ poll prospects. Alappuzha DCC president Babu Prasad told the leaders that he could not reduce the number of buses already booked, as a large section of people, including SNDP Yogam workers, had shown interest in attending the programme since Sivagiri Mutt was also associated with it.
Eventually, the leadership granted relaxation only to Alappuzha DCC and asked other districts to scale down their arrangements.