Ravi trains his gun on Karunakaran

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, AUG. 9. The State unit of the Congress is exhibiting the characteristics of regional parties that function like family trusts, according to Mr. Vayalar Ravi, former KPCC president.

Inaugurating a Youth Congress meeting convened by the "fourth group" here today, Mr. Ravi said some leaders of the party are functioning like the kings of erstwhile princely kingdoms where the princes would succeed their fathers, he said, making a veiled attack on the senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran.

Though the organisation has the responsibility to back its Ministers, the party machinery has failed in this aspect. The organisation could not effectively explain the Government decision regarding the awarding of minority status to certain educational institutions, he said.

It is shame on the party to have certain persons who do not even know the meaning of the word vigilance commenting on the State Government's decision to announce a Vigilance probe into the leakage of Cabinet notes, he said, referring to Mrs. Padmaja Venugopal's recent statement in this regard. The political experience and tradition of these persons are limited to the statements that they overheard during their childhood, he said.

According to Mr. Ravi, those leaders, who feared that they may lose the privilege of nominating leaders to various positions, were sabotaging the organisation elections in the State unit of the party. It was not for promoting any kith and kin of some leaders that the martyrs and workers of the Congress party in Kannur district and several other parts of the State strived for. The Youth Congress and KSU are now as good as dead and the youth organisation is now not in a position to organise agitations for protecting the rights of the youth, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister for Forest and Youth Affairs, Mr. K. Sudhakaran, questioned the intentions of those leaders who have complained that the Government lacked speed and vigour. Some have even gone to the extent of demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister on the issue of leakage of Cabinet notes even after the Cabinet ordered a Vigilance probe. During the last five years, the CPI(M) had planted its cadres in key positions of the administration and it will not be an easy task to flush them out, he said.

The party has failed to make the copy of the White Paper on State Finances available to party workers and explain to the general public the prevailing economic situation. If it was done on time, the public resistance against the hike in taxes and power tariff would have been minimum, he said.

Once the State achieves financial stability, the Government would consider the rolling back of hiked tariffs, he said.

Mrs. Mercy Ravi, MLA, the KPCC general secretary, Mr. Ajay Tharayil, and Mr. Mohanachandran, Mr. V.H.M. Rafeeq and Mr. Bharatipuram Sasi, party leaders, were among those who attended the meeting.

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