Karunakaran sees no hitch in choosing CM

By Our Staff Reporter

PATHANAMTHITTA, MAY 8. The senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, has said that he would accept the party president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi's decision on the State's chief ministership.

Talking to presspersons here today, Mr. Karunakaran said that once the UDF gets majority, the Congress MLAs would elect the Chief Minister with the concurrence of the Congress president in the next five days.

Asked about the groupism in the party, Mr. Karunakaran retorted, "what is the use of repeating the stale stories?" He said there would not be any hitch in the election of the next Chief Minister once the UDF got majority.

Asked whether the UDF will accept the BJP votes, the Congress leader said that all those who are concerned about the future of the State would definitely vote for the UDF and added that there was nothing impossible in politics.

He alleged that the CPI(M) criticism against the opinion poll results that predicted a UDF victory was due to its ignorance on the human psyche.

Asked whether Ms. Padmaja Veugopal would get a ministerial berth in the next UDF ministry, Mr. Karunakaran retorted that he had entered politics not with an aim of becoming an MLA or a Minister or to get any personal gains.

"I have never thought that my children are running after any party posts or personal gains and if they wanted to enter into politics why should I stood against them? I never opposed anybody's entry into politics and am of the opinion that only those who have the real stuff will be able to survive in politics," he said.

Earlier, addressing election rallies at Konni and Aranmula, Mr. Karunakaran alleged that the five-year LDF Government had ruined the State on all fronts and only the UDF would be able to save the State from the crises.

Mr. Karunakaran said that a similar situation was there when he took over as the Chief Minister in 1991 and the UDF could very well tide over the financial problems in the next few months. "I am confident of tiding over the ongoing economic crisis once the UDF is elected to power," he added.

Criticising the politicisation of the police force, Mr. Karunakaran said, "I will not blindly blame the police personnel for the law and order crisis in the State. Who knows the police force better than me? I am sure that I will be able to make the State police the number one law-enforcing agency in the country in the first three months of the next UDF rule."

He called upon the people to vote for Mr. Adoor Prakash in Konni and for Ms. Malethu Saraladevi in Aranmula. The DCC president, Mr. Peelippose Thomas, accompanied Mr. Karunakaran.

The UDF mandalam convener, Mr. George Kunnappuzha, presided the meeting at Aranmula. The candidate Ms. Malethu Saraladevi, the UDF leaders, Mr. Thankachan Kakkanattu, Mr. Thomas Mathew Edayaranmula, Mr. Pandalam Sivankutty and Mr. Arackal Swaminathan also spoke.

In Konni, the KC(M) State secretary, Mr. Joseph George Vadakkedom, presided over the UDF rally. The Congress leaders, Mr. Oommen Chandy, Mr. Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, Mr. Babu George, Mr. P.O. Pushpangadan, and Mr. Haridas Edathitta also spoke.

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Section  : State Elections
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