THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of UDF MLAs donating their one month’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), Opposition Leader V D Satheesan has contributed Rs 1 lakh. Congress state president K Sudhakaran, who had courted controversy over his comments on the CMDRF, is exploring the possibility of allocating money from his MPLADS fund. A decision has to come from the part of the Congress which Sudhakaran is awaiting. CWC leader A K Antony has also urged everyone to contribute to the CMDRF.
Following the twin landslides in Wayanad on July 29, the Congress leadership had been facing a major controversy on donating funds to the CMDRF. CWC leader Ramesh Chennithala was the first senior leader to contribute his one month’s MLA salary of `50,000 to the CMDRF. He also urged everyone to contribute to the CMDRF so as to rebuild Wayanad. Sudhakaran had blamed Chennithala for his action which saw Satheesan endorsing him.
The Congress state president had urged leaders to donate funds to the Congress party so that it directly reaches the survivors of Wayanad landslides. Sudhakaran, who does not see eye to eye with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has always been putting up a resistance against him and the CPM. So, it was not at all surprising when he came up against Pinarayi in a Facebook post on Tuesday saying whatever funds reaching the CMDRF should be clear and transparent.
On Wednesday, a top Congress leader told TNIE that Sudhakaran was awaiting a political decision to come from the AICC. “A master plan on Rahul Gandhi’s promise of providing 100 homes to the Wayanad landslide victims is in its final shape. MPLADS funds would be utilised for this mega project. A collective decision has to come towards this which would be announced in the coming days,” the leader said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Antony contributed Rs 50,000 towards CMDRF in the presence of Satheesan and other leaders at his official residence. He was speaking after launching the Thalekunnil Basheer Memorial Building construction fund-raising programme to which he contributed Rs 1,000 to Satheesan. Meanwhile, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan contributed Rs 5 lakh to the CMDRF on Wednesday.