The Hindu : DCC suspends three `I' faction members

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

DCC suspends three `I' faction members

By Our Staff Reporter.

KOCHI AUG.22. The Ernakulam DCC president, K. P. Dhanapalan, today suspended three Congress workers owing allegiance to the `I' faction for violating the party discipline by issuing public statements. The suspension is for a period of six years.

Those suspended today are the party primary members, K. V. Job and Biju C. Valluvanadan, who filed the vigilance cases against the State Fisheries and Tourism Minister, K. V. Thomas, and the INTUC leader, E. A. Jayakumar, who issued a public statement against Prof. Thomas supporting the allegation of the Kochi-based industrialist that the Minister himself might have forged the document for diverting the public attention from the Vigilance case.

The disciplinary action was initiated following the direction of the KPCC president, K. Muraleedharan, said Mr. Dhanapalan.

Meanwhile, the power centres in the `I' faction has started a damage control exercise following the realisation that the ongoing feud between the two prominent members of the faction will not do any good.

Prof. Thomas and Leno Jacob are expected to meet the Senior Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, who is now in Thiruvananthapuram separately for ironing out the issue.

The KTDC chairperson, Padmaja Venugopal, is expected to play the role of a mediator in bringing about a truce between the warring faction members.

Prof. Thomas who is away at Velankanni is likely to meet Mr. Karunakaran in Thiruvananathapuram on Monday whereas Mr. Leno Jacob may meet the veteran leader tomorrow.

At the same time, the faction leaders are also nurturing an ill-feeling against the KPCC leadership for proceeding against the `I' faction leaders on disciplinary ground whereas several other party functionaries belonging to other groups have also issued public statements on various organisational issues.

Some faction leaders are also of the view that the disciplinary action against Mr. Jacob was taken in a haste.

Though the other factions have distanced themselves from the issue involving the `I' faction as its domestic affair, most of the senior party functionaries from the district have endorsed the steps taken by the KPCC president for ensuring party discipline.

Most of them are also of the view that those behind the forging of the document against Mr. Thomas be brought to book as it has caused irreparable damage to the credibility of the party and the organisation. The party office-bearers need to show some restrain regarding public statements, commented a senior party functionary.

There is also a considerable section holding the view that the controversies that followed the forgery case were aimed at diverting the attention from the Crime Branch investigation into the forging of the `hawala' document.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Karunakaran hits out at Antony

Pattayam or not, forestland grab is a way of life

Mar Thoma Sabha Mandalam meet begins

Kerala project to draw global attention at Earth Summit

DCC suspends three `I' faction members